With the Falcons coming withing just a handful of plays to play in the Super Bowl, it’s kind of tough to properly gauge how the season as a whole went. Because while Atlanta did make it to the NFC title game, they weren’t blown out of the game. Just the opposite, they were the ones blowing out the 49ers and couldn’t hold onto the lead. That being said, you really have to treat the regular season and the post season differently.

Regarding the regular season, the Falcons certainly had a successful year. Thanks to the new offensive and defensive coordinators of Dirk Koetter and Mike Nolan, respectively, Atlanta’s 13-3 record tied the franchise record for the second best win-loss season. Only the 14-2 1998 squad had a better record.

(Credit, Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Koetter’s new take on the offense, by focusing on the aerial attack, certainly paid off in spades. Matt Ryan had a career year, setting new personal bests in passing yards (4,719), passing touchdowns (32), completion percentage (68.6) and quarterback rating (99.1). Ryan’s favorite targets: Julio Jones, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez all had marvelous seasons with Ryan, Jones and Gonzalez selected to this years Pro Bowl. Gonzalez also became the first tight end in NFL history to record 100+ touchdown receptions. Whenever he retires, Canton, Ohio will be calling his name as soon as he’s eligible for the Hall of Fame.

With such an emphasis on passing, the running game didn’t fare as well. Michael Turner did not have a good year as far as rushing yards and yards per attempt are concerned. He also didn’t display the best judgement off the field as he was arrested for DUI following a Monday Night Football game.  However, second-year running back Jacquizz Rodgers showed promise both running the ball as well as catching it. Next season when Atlanta needs a speedy back to pick up some yards, they know who’s number to call.

The defensive side of the ball is a little tougher to analyze. The big free agent signing was cornerback Asante Samuel. It was a good move as Samuel finished the season accounting for a quarter of the teams interceptions (he had five) and even returned one for a touchdown.

But Atlanta’s other starting cornerback, Brent Grimes, was injured in the first game against Kansas City and placed on IR shortly after. However, backups like Robert McClain stepped up. Alone with Dunta Robinson and Thomas DeCoud in the secondary, Atlanta definitely had a defensive squad that quarterbacks didn’t want to face.

While Atlanta’s defense wasn’t impressive as far as yardage allowed goes, they were near impossible to score on. Allowing fewer than 19 points a game, Atlanta had the fifth stingiest defense, which allowed them to stay in almost every game until the final whistle was blown.

Now onto the postseason. At the start of the season, it appeared that the Atlanta Falcons had one goal in mind: win at least one playoff game. Atlanta piled up eight straight wins (a franchise record) to start the season and was the first team to secure a playoff spot as well as win its respective division and lock up the number one seed in the NFC. But even with all that, there were many who doubted success in the regular season would carry over or translate into the postseason.

It was fair criticism, Atlanta hadn’t won a postseason game since Michael Vick was the quarterback and Ryan and Mike Smith were both 0-3 in the playoffs. If nothing else, the team desperately wanted to win one playoff game for Gonzalez who had never won a single post season game in his 16-year career. The good news is that Atlanta was able to deliver their first victory of the Matt Ryan/Mike Smith era. The bad news is that they were very close to losing, giving up the lead in the final minute before being able to kick a game-winning field goal with second left on the clock.

For the first time in franchise history, the Falcons were able to host the NFC championship game. Much like the Divisional game, Atlanta built up a nice lead and then gave it away in the second half. The difference was they couldn’t pull of another comeback win to advance to the Super Bowl. With all of that taken into consideration, did the Atlanta Falcons have a successful season? In my opinion, they certainly did and should look to improve upon it next year.

Now that the Falcons have cleared their lockers in Flowery Branch, GA, the big question is what do they need to do in order to make it to next year’s Super Bowl? Are they missing a player? Do they need to change or add different plays? Or do they simply need to keep their foot on the gas when they’ve got the lead over their opponents? Whatever the answer, you can be sure the coaching staff, along with the players, will spend time this off season hoping to answer these very questions.

It’s been a great season covering the Falcons from their Week 1 win over Kansas City to their heartbreaking loss to San Francisco. Thank you, and look forward to coverage the 2013 season.

For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

(Credit, Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

For the Falcons faithful, the NFC Championship game was almost déjà vu all over again. Atlanta started out strong, pitching a shutout in the first quarter and completely dominated both sides of the ball. Much like the Seattle Seahawks, the San Francisco’s 49ers tight end kept his team in the game. In the second half, Atlanta essentially self-destructed and gave up the lead late in the fourth quarter. The only difference between this game and the one against Seattle was that Atlanta couldn’t pull off the Houdini act for the second week in a row, this time losing 28-24.

It’s always tough losing a playoff game, but when your team has a legitimate chance to win the game, losing a one-score game makes it that much tougher. Now the big question for the next few weeks is if this was Tony Gonzalez’s last game. Last week Atlanta was able to at least get Tony his first playoff win. Gonzalez said he was 95 percent sure that this season would be his last, but given how close the Falcons came to the Super Bowl, who knows if that five percent will persuade him to stay at least one more season.

The Good
Atlanta in the first quarter, specifically Julio Jones, gets an A+. On offense, Julio could not be stopped. In the first 15:06 of the game he picked up 120 receiving yards to go along with two touchdown catches of 46 and 20 yards, respectively. He finished the game with 11 catches for a franchise playoff record 182 yards.

On defense, the Falcons did nothing but stop Colin Kaepernick and company. In the first 15 minutes of the game, Atlanta limited San Francisco to negative two yards. That is not a typo. Negative two yards.

The first half stats for Atlanta’s trio of receivers were very impressive. At halftime Jones had caught seven passes for 135 yards and the two touchdowns, Roddy White pulled down six catches for 91 yards and Tony Gonzalez brought in five receptions for 45 yards and one touchdown.

Matt Ryan’s first half stats were equally impressive. Matty Ice completed 18 of 24 passes for 271 yards with the three touchdowns and no interceptions. Against Seattle, Ryan only threw for 250 yards in the entire game.

The Bad
Atlanta’s defense in the second, third and fourth quarters get a D. The 49ers didn’t gain a single yard in the first quarter, but by halftime, Colin had completed 9 of 12 passes for 99 yards and one touchdown. He was limited to just one rushing attempt, but it was a 23-yard scamper giving San Francisco a much needed first down.

After Jones’ second touchdown pass, it seems as though the Falcons defense became gun shy. They had trouble tackling, especially tight end Vernon Davis, who caught four of Colin’s passes for 75 yards including the touchdown grab. San Francisco gained 162 yards in the second quarter. By the end of the game, the 49ers had 373 total yards of offense.

The one bright spot for Atlanta’s defense in the second half was due to Asante Samuel. Michael Crabtree has just caught a pass and was just inches away from crossing the goal line. Samuel was able to jar the ball loose and allow the Falcons to recover the ball. Unfortunately, Atlanta was given possession on the one-yard line and went three-and-out on that possession.

The Ugly
Matt Ryan’s turnovers get a C-. Matty Ice was responsible for both of Atlanta’s turnovers. Both occurred in the third quarter when it was clear Atlanta needed to score more to win the game. Atlanta was shut out in the second half, mustering just 125 passing yards in the second half. The first turnover was in the third quarter. Atlanta had second-and-10 on San Francisco’s 47 yard line. Ryan threw the ball low and short, allowing Chris Culliver a chance for a diving interception.

That turnover ended up not mattering since San Francisco couldn’t convert it into points. The second turnover was also deep in 49ers territory, this time on the San Francisco 29. In the shotgun formation, Ryan appeared to take his eyes off the snap because he couldn’t handle the snap cleanly. It was a good snap, but for whatever reason Ryan didn’t catch it.

Much like the first turnover, San Francisco couldn’t turn it into points because of Crabtree’s fumble. However, following Atlanta’s three-and-out upon recovering the fumble, San Francisco was able to march 68 yards on just six plays to score the final points of the game.

The Falcons season is over. For the rest of the fans of the NFL, it’s time to see which of the two Harbaugh brothers will raise the Lombardi Trophy: Jim (San Francisco) or John (Baltimore).

For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

A lot has happened for the Falcons since last Saturday’s win against Detroit. Atlanta has clinched the home-field advantage throughout the NFL Playoffs. Three Falcons have been chosen to go to the Pro Bowl. Oh yeah, there’s still one more game for Atlanta before the regular season ends.

While Matt Ryan (second time), Julio Jones (first time) and Tony Gonzalez (thirteenth time) may be headed to Hawaii, all three men would rather have their final destination be the New Orleans Superdome than Aloha Stadium.

(Credit, Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

Even though Atlanta’s Week 17 opposition is the 6-9 Tampa Bay Bucs, don’t think that this is going to be a walk in the park for the 12-2 Falcons. The last time Atlanta and Tampa faced off, Atlanta was lucky to escape Raymond James Stadium with a 24-23 win.

But it wasn’t for lack of trying. The big reason Atlanta struggled in the game was costly turnovers. Ryan knows that Atlanta can’t play the same sloppy football if they expect to finish the season 14-2. “We’ve got to protect the football better,” Ryan said. “Two turnovers down there the last time we played …Those are two things that I’ve got to clean up in order for us to have a better chance.”

One of the reasons Atlanta did win was the throwing accuracy of Matty Ice. Connecting on 81 percent of his pass attempts, Ryan finished the game with 353 yards to go along with one touchdown. A performance like that is what Bucs coach Greg Schiano has come to expect of Ryan and his abilities.

When asked about the Falcons gunslinger, Schiano had nothing but compliments to pay to Matt Ryan. “I think he’s in the elite status,” Schiano said. “I think he’s at that level. The kind of field command he has and the way he directs the operation. A lot of guys have big arms and there are a lot of guys that are mobile and all that, but it’s the way they lead, the commandership they have over their offense makes them elite.”

While other may argue if Ryan has truly reached elite status or not, his statistics are at an all-time high. Ryan already has 31 touchdown passes this season a record he shares with Steve Bartkowski. With Ryan averaging better than two touchdown passes per game, Ryan should be in sole possession of the record after the Tampa game.

Ryan has already broken his personal bests of completions, yards , touchdowns, and passer rating with one game remaining. Ryan’s 69 percent completion rate is second best in the NFL. The 394 pass completions are the third most.  Ryan’s 4,481 passing yards, 31 touchdowns and 100.2 passer rating are all fifth best in the league.

While the Tampa Bay Bucs are simply playing for pride, Mike Smith is placed in a tough spot. Does he play his starters as usual, keeping them in sync but risking injuries. Or does he keep them out, no injuries but they may not be in tune with each other come the Playoffs?

For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

On Wednesday, Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy came under fire after he stated to the Charlotte Observer that the 3-9 Panthers are a better team than the 11-1 Falcons. With Carolina’s 30-20 beat down of Atlanta, if Hardy hasn’t already said “I told you so” to everyone who doubted him, he’s within his rights to stand by his claim.

(Credit, Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Hardy was referring to the Week 4 game when Atlanta narrowly defeated Carolina 30-28. The Panthers were positioned to run the clock out, yet a Cam Newton fumble forced a Panther punt and gave the Falcons hope. “There’s a point where you know you’re better than someone,” Hardy said when referring to Week 4. “We just didn’t pull it out.”

While Hardy’s comments that the Panthers are truly a better team than the Falcons is still open to debate, you can’t argue the fact that the Panthers do match up very well against the Falcons, much like last year’s Washington Redskins team, which finished 5-11 but had two wins over the eventual Super Bowl Champion New York Giants.

This is one of those games where it’s pointless to try to sugarcoat anything the Falcons did well. Tony Gonzalez perfectly summarized the afternoon for the Falcons. ”We can’t leave our defense out there like we did, and we’ve got to put points up,” Gonzalez said. “We’re too good of an offense…We’ve got too many players. Too much talent.”

That being said, don’t expect much in the way of complimenting the way Atlanta played today in this review.

The Good
Roddy White and Julio Jones get a B+ for their combined efforts. This is a tough one. While Matt Ryan did surpass the 300-yard passing mark for the eighth time this season (including the 299 yards in Week 1 against Kansas City), his efforts for a win this time were always too little, too late. Jones and White combined for 183 of Ryan’s 342 passing yards and both of his passing touchdowns. Roddy had game-highs with his nine receptions and 117 receiving yards.

The Bad
Atlanta’s defense gets a D+. One of the keys to victory mentioned earlier this week was to make Cam Newton one-dimensional and force him to either beat Atlanta with his arm or his legs, but not both. Atlanta allowed Newton and company to essentially run over the Falcons defense the entire game. Newton was personally responsible for more than 400 of Carolina’s 475 yards of total offense.

Anybody who wants to see what the textbook definition of a “dual threat” quarterback is will definitely want to reference the display Newton showcased in this game. Newton was responsible for all three Panthers touchdowns, two through the air where he passed for nearly 290 yards and also had a 72-yard touchdown run as part of his 116 yards on the ground. In that one 72-yard score, Newton almost outgained the rest of the Panthers running attack, which finished with 79 yards on 23 carries.

From the beginning of the game, the Panthers were in control. Carolina scored on its first five possessions, shut out the Falcons in the first half and built up a 23-0 lead. Atlanta didn’t score until about halfway into the third quarter.  

The Ugly
Atlanta’s running game, specifically Michael Turner yet again, get an F. The Week 4 game against Carolina was statistically the best game of the season for Turner. He broke the 100-yard rushing mark for the first time in the season and finished with 171 all-purpose yards, including a 60-yard touchdown catch.

This game was the exact opposite. Turner gained just 14 rushing yards on 7 attempts and made no catches. While he did score a touchdown for the fourth time in the past five games, his one-yard score came with less than four minutes left in the game with Atlanta already trailing by 17.

Atlanta’s other running back, Jacquizz Rodgers, had a better day, but let’s be honest, Turner didn’t exactly set the bar high this time. Rodgers had 21 rushing yards on four attempts and 43 receiving yards on six catches.

For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

The last four weeks have been a rollercoaster ride for the Falcons. After starting out the season 8-0, the New Orleans Saints handed Atlanta its first loss of the season. Atlanta won the next game against Arizona, but it was one of the uglier wins a sports fan will ever see. To finish up these four games, Atlanta defeated the Saints and ended Drew Brees’ NFL record of consecutive games throwing a touchdown pass.

(Credit, Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

While Atlanta’s defense has always kept them in every game this season, this third quarter review is going to focus on the offensive side of the ball. It appears as though Atlanta’s defense adapts to whatever is needed of them from week to week.

The Good
Atlanta’s three-headed monster of receivers get an A. While Matt Ryan has been struggling as of late, the trio of Julio Jones, Tony Gonzalez and Roddy White have shared the duties of each leading the team in receiving stats throughout the season. Of Ryan’s 312 completions this season, this trio has caught 199 of them for 2,724 yards and 17 of Atlanta’s 22 passing touchdowns.

While this is only Jones’ sophomore year, he’s already on pace to eclipse 1,200 receiving yards and should break his rookie receiving yard record next week against the Carolina Panthers.

Against the Saints in Week 10, Gonzalez became the first tight end in NFL history to record 100-plus touchdown receptions in a career. He now has 102 and has the sixth most touchdown receptions of all-time in the NFL. He’s currently on pace to top the 1,000 receiving yards mark for the fifth time in his career and just the first time as an Atlanta Falcon.

Roddy White’s touchdown number may have slightly slipped, but he’s still producing lots of reception yards. He’s already over the 1,000 receiving yard mark for the sixth time in his career and is on pace to record 1,364 yards, the third-highest number in his career. It should be noted that some of the production drop off is due to the acquisition of Jones and Gonzalez. Still, with a small decline in stats, Roddy has done a great job and is a legitimate Pro-Bowl candidate for this year.

The Bad
Atlanta’s rushing attack, specifically Michael Turner, gets a D+. The running attack of Atlanta has been extremely perplexing as of late. Against the Saints in Week 10 and Bucs in Week 12, Michael Turner had 26 rushing attempts for a combined 32 yards. Anyway you slice it, a 1.2 yards gained per rush attempt is terrible. That being said, Turner has scored three of his seven rushing touchdowns in the last three games.

Against New Orleans in Week 13, Turner had a respectable game with 83 rushing yards on 12 carries for a nice 6.9 yards per carry average. The problem has been the consistency of his efforts.

The Ugly
Matt Ryan gets a C-. This is a tough one to call due to Ryan’s statistics. The 1,412 yards Ryan has thrown in the past four games is the most he’s thrown in any quarter of the season but his touchdown and interception rating is bad. He has thrown just 5 touchdowns against 7 interceptions in these four games.

To put this in context, these are Ryan’s statistics for the first and second four game sets of the season. Weeks 1-4 Ryan had 1,162 passing yards with 11 touchdowns and just 2 interceptions. Weeks 5-9 (with Week 7 as the Bye Week) Ryan had 1,016 passing yards with 6 touchdowns and four interceptions.

Ryan is on pace to throw for almost 4,800 yards, 29 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. If he continues on this pace, Ryan will set new career records in passing yardage and interceptions while tying his 2011 record of touchdown passes. For the record, Ryan’s 29 touchdown passes last year came against just 12 interceptions. a number Ryan already eclipsed through his first 11 games of the season.

For Atlanta to finish the final four games of the regular season strong and hopefully deep into the playoffs, the name of the game will be consistency for everyone on the offensive side of the ball. If they can do that, there’s no reason Falcons fans shouldn’t be thinking at least NFC Championship or Super Bowl XLVII in February.

For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

As is tradition with the Falcons this season, they won yet another close game, narrowly defeating the Tampa Bay Bucs 24-23. For the fifth time this season, Matt Ryan and company have had to engineer the game-winning drive while trailing late in the fourth quarter.

(Credit, Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The win gives Atlanta ten for the season. They are still in the lead for the top playoff spot for the NFC and are tied with the Houston Texans for best record in the NFL. Of course, not everything about the Falcons win was good.

The Good
Backup running back Jacquizz Rodgers gets an A. This was a great all-around performance. Rodgers had 73 kick return yards, 30 receiving yards and led the Falcons with 49 rushing yards and scoring one touchdown on the ground. His 152 all-purpose yards were led all players. As mentioned before, Rodgers is consistently outperforming starting running back Michael Turner. The Falcons may want Rodgers as their starter next year.

Wide receiver Julio Jones gets an A. This time it was Jones’ turn to lead the team in receptions and receiving yards. Julio finished the game with six reception for 147 yards including an 80-yard touchdown pass from Ryan in the third quarter.

Atlanta’s defense gets a B+. With Doug “Muscle Hamster” Martin already reaching the 1,000-rushing yard mark last week, the Falcons defense did an overall good job of limiting Martin. Yes, Martin did finish the game with two touchdowns but both of them were run in from one-yard out. Averaging about 100 yards per game coming into the Atlanta contest, he was limited to just 50 rushing yards on 21 carries. His longest run of the day was for 10 yards meaning he was contained throughout the game.

The Bad
Quarterback Matt Ryan gets a C+. Yet again Ryan had another solid performance. Ryan finished with 353 passing yards, a passing touchdown and one 13-yard scamper. Since Ryan averages slighty fewer than 300 passing yards again, why is he listed in the “Bag” category? Yet again Ryan continues to turn the ball over. Just one game removed from his career-worst five interceptions, Ryan turned the ball over twice this game. Rhonde Barber intercepted one of Ryan’s passes returning it 28 yards and Ryan also fumbled the ball. In just two games Ryan has nearly doubled the number of interceptions he has thrown all season

Starting running back Michael Turner gets a C-. In the eleven games Atlanta has played this season, Turner has only eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark twice. A few weeks ago against New Orleans, Turner couldn’t eclipse the 20-yard rushing mark. The same thing happened against Tampa when he ran 13 times for 17 yards. Just like against Arizona, Turner ended up scoring the winning touchdown, but his overall statistics were once again subpar at best. This may be Turner’s last season in the NFL, or at least with the Falcons, if he turns in games like this one.

The Ugly
Kicker Matt Bryant gets a D. Bryant has been struffling as of late. He was a perfect 10-10 throughout the first four games for the Falcons. Since then he’s missed 5 of his last 21 attempts including 2 of them against the Bucs. Bryant finished the day with just one 31-yard field goal made. He missed a 48-yard attempt and a 22-yard kick at halftime which would have giving the Falcons the lead. In the end it’s didn’t play a deciding factor but in the playoffs, it could come down to one kick.

For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

With nearly three-quarters of the season completed, the Falcons are starting to show signs of wear and tear with yet another season-high for players on the injury report. With 13 listed, this is both a good and bad situation for the Falcons simultaneously.

(Credit, Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

The good news is that just one player is listed as out for the game: safety Charles Mitchell (calf) did not participate in any of the practices this week. The bad news is that eight of the other players on the injury report play significant roles for the Falcons.

Six players are listed as probable for the game. They are defensive end John Abraham (back), defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux (neck), kicker Matt Bryant (back), cornerback Chris Owens (thigh), quarterback Matt Ryan (left finger) and running back Michael Turner (groin). Of these six players Ryan was the only Falcon to fully participate in practice all week. The remaining five Falcons were limited both Wednesday and Thursday but were all able to fully practice Friday.

The final six Falcons are listed as questionable for the game: wide receivers Kevin Cone (groin) and Julio Jones (ankle), defensive tackles Peria Jerry and Vance Walker, cornerback Asante Samuel (shoulder) and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon (illness/ankle). Jerry was the only Falcon in this group to not participate in any practices this week. The other five players were limited throughout the week with a few missing days of practice. Samuel missed both Wednesday and Friday, Jones missed Wednesday and Spoon missed Thursday’s practice.

Nine Tampa Bay Bucs are listed on the injury report. Safety Cody Grimm (hamstring) is the only player listed as out. Wide receiver Arrelious Benn’s status is not listed, nor exactly what type of injury he sustained either. Both men did not participate in practice.

Six Bucs are listed as probable: wide receiver Tiquan Underwood (head), cornerback Leonard Johnson (heel), safety Ahmad Black (illness), linebacker Dekoda Watson (hamstring) and defensive ends Michael Bennett (shoulder) and Aaron Morgan (shoulder). All five men fully participated in practice.

The final Buc on the injury report is cornerback Eric Wright (Achilles). He is listed as questionable and was limited in practice this week.

Even with all these injuries, the Falcons know that Tampa Bay is not going to be a pushover. Ryan knows just how intense this Buccaneers team is. “Every time we’ve played them it’s been a tough, physical game,” Ryan said. “They look like they’re playing with increased intensity…I’ve been impressed with their effort. I really have. We know watching them they’re going to give you sixty minutes of their best, and we’ve got to do the same.”

For reference:

• Probable: a 75% chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game
• Questionable: a 50% chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game
• Doubtful: a 25% chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game
• Out: there is no chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game

For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

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With just two games played against NFC rivals this year, the Falcons head to Tampa Bay this weekend to take on the Bucs for the first of two meetings in the final six regular season games.

(Credit, Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

While Atlanta did beat Arizona last week, it wasn’t a pretty victory. The Falcons will have to be much sharper this week when they face the surprisingly good Bucs’ offense quarterbacked by Josh Freeman.

Coach Smitty knows one of the keys to the game will be to limit Freeman and his production. “He’s running the offense extremely well. They’re scoring a lot of points, and they’re doing it both running and throwing the ball,” Smitty said. “I think he’s throwing with more accuracy. I don’t think he’s taking off and running with it as much. When he does he’s running effectively…I think he’s doing a good job of getting the ball out of his hands.”

One reason for Freeman’s improved offense is the addition of two key receivers: wide receiver Vincent Jackson and tight end Dallas Clark. For those who don’t pay much attention to the AFC, Clark was one of Peyton Manning’s weapons when the two played together in Indianapolis.

While Clark’s move to Tampa Bay may not have been a huge headline, he’s been quietly proving just how good a receiving tight end he is. “Dallas the last three or four weeks has really become more of a productive player for them,” Smitty said. “He creates some issues inside and outside, not to take anything away from the other guys. He’s done a nice job in his production.”

The other main reason for Tampa’s recent success is their new head coach Greg Schiano. While he may not be playing on the field, any sports fan worth their salt knows how invaluable a good coach can be for their team.

What’s interesting about the Bucs this year is the disparity of their run defense versus their pass defense. As far as rushing defense goes, the Bucs are statistically the best in the league. “They play with a lot of passion and a lot of energy. They’re doing a very good job in their run defense,” Smitty said. “They’ve been a very aggressive team in terms of stopping the run…The other thing that I think shows up is they’re very good in the turnover ratio, but when they do create those turnovers the offense is turning them into points. They’re number one in the League in terms of scoring touchdowns off turnovers.”

But what about Tampa’s pass defense? It’s the worst in the league. That’s good for the Falcons since they have one of the most efficient passing games and one of the weaker running attacks in the league.

The fact that Tampa is so poor on passing defense is a definite shock since they have one of the best secondary players in the league, Ronde Barber. He’s someone that Matty Ryan will have to constantly know where he is. “Ronde is an extremely smart player. He probably knows his defense as well as anybody in the NFL,” Ryan said. “He’s a great pattern reader, very good at reading the quarterback’s eyes, and anticipating things coming from the offense. I think he’s been a good fit for them on the back end.”

With the Falcons currently at 1-1 in their division, the Tampa game will be a good barometer to see exactly where the Falcons stack up in the rest of the division. Tampa is currently the only other NFC South team with a winning record (the Saints are .500) so this game will not have the feel of a trap game. Kickoff is at 1pm EST.

For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

The Week 10 loss to the Saints may have taken more of a toll on the Falcons than originally thought with twelve players on the injury report and seven of those players listed as questionable or worse.

(Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

Two players are listed as out for Sunday’s game: wide receiver Kevin Cone (groin) and safety Charles Mitchell (calf). Neither man participated at all in this week’s practices.

Five Falcons are listed as questionable for the game: defensive end John Abraham (back), defensive tackle Vance Walker (ribs), linebacker Sean Weatherspoon (ankle), wide receiver Julio Jones (ankle) and running back Michael Turner (groin). Walker, Turner and Abraham were limited in practice throughout the week.

Out of the players listed as questionable, the biggest concerns are with Julio and Spoon. Neither man was able to participate in practice at all this week. While Spoon was out last week with an injury, there may be real concern over Julio, who missed more than twenty plays he would normally be in against New Orleans. “Anytime you have your 1-A or 1-B receiver out for that many snaps it’s going to change the dynamics of your play calling and what you’re going to try and do formationally,” Smitty said on Monday about Julio’s injuries.

What about Spoon’s availability against Arizona? Smitty wouldn’t say for certain, but it is looking more and more like he will at least suit up for the game. “Sean has worked extremely hard,” Smitty said. “He’s done a nice job in his rehab. He’s been a great patient. Both he and WR Kevin Cone have been great patients with our training staff.”

The final five Falcons are listed as probable: defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux (thigh), wide receiver Harry Douglas (ankle), tight end Tony Gonzalez (shoulder) and linebackers Stephen Nicholas (groin) and Mike Peterson (foot).

Peterson was the only Falcon listed on the injury report who was able to fully participate in practice the entire week. The other four players were all limited on Wednesday. Babineaux, Douglas and Gonzalez were able to fully participate both on Thursday and Friday. Nicholas was the only one limited on Thursday but was able to fully participate on Friday.

This week is one of the rare weeks that Atlanta’s opponent has fewer players on the injury report than Atlanta. Nine Cardinals are listed with only one as a definite out: quarterback Kevin Kolb (ribs) who did not participate in practice.

Four Cardinals are listed as questionable: tight end Todd Heap (knee), defensive end Calais Campbell (calf) and cornerbacks Jamell Fleming (back) and Gregory Toler (hamstring). All four players were limited in practice participation.

The final four Cardinals are listed as probable: long snapper Mike Leach (back), Kerry Rhodes (back), guard Adam Snyder (quadricep) and tight end Jeff King (knee). All four men were able to fully participate in practice.

For reference:

• Probable: a 75% chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game
• Questionable: a 50% chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game
• Doubtful: a 25% chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game
• Out: there is no chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game

For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

The Falcons are in an unusual place this week. For the first time in the regular season, Atlanta didn’t leave their game the winner. While that may simply mean the undefeated monkey is finally off Atlanta’s back, it also means those oh-so-fun questions reporters ask you about handling defeat for the first time.

(Credit, Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

Fortunately for the Falcons, Smitty was able to handle that question easily. Those who have listened to Smith over this season knew what his response would be, and they were not disappointed.

“It’s week-to-week in terms of your preparation,” Smitty said. “Whether you win or you lose, you’re going to learn from it. You’re going to put it behind you as quickly as possible, and you’re going to move forward. Your focus has to go onto the next game and that’s the way we’ve always done it.”

Smitty is right that a team can’t worry about previous or future opponents and must simply focus on the task at hand. For Atlanta, that means avoiding a two-game losing streak when the Arizona Cardinals come to the Georgia Dome with weekend. But it won’t be an easy task.

As far as the physicality of last Sunday’s loss to New Orleans, more Falcons were either absent from practice on Wednesday or forced to participate in a limited role.

“It was a very physical game, so we wanted to give these guys some rest,” Smitty said. “They’ve got some bumps and bruises. That’s why we had a much longer list today.”

According to Smitty, four Falcons didn’t participate: Kevin Cone, Julio Jones, Charles Mitchell and Sean Weatherspoon.

Seven Falcons were limited in practice: John Abraham, Jonathan Babineaux, Harry Douglas, Tony Gonzalez, Stephen Nicholas, Michael Turner and Vance Walker. Fortunately Smitty expects most of them to be able to participate fully tomorrow.

But two of the main injuries, Jones and Weatherspoon, may still not be ready for the Arizona game. Jones is listed on the injury report with a bad ankle. Smitty wants to give Julio as much rest as possible in case he is asked to suit up Sunday saying, “We want to keep Julio off his feet and Julio will be evaluated tomorrow and determine how much work he’ll do.”

Spoon sat out last week’s game also because of an ankle injury. While Spoon was able to get some exercise in Wednesday, Smitty isn’t stating if Spoon will be ready to suit up just yet. “Sean was working with our AP (Athletic Performance) guys today and he moved around,” Smith said. “We’ll ramp that up tomorrow and see how he feels in the morning and we’ll determine what his workload will be for tomorrow.”

What happens tomorrow? Smitty didn’t give a concrete answer on that question either. “I can’t speak to that,” Smitty said. “I know he had a good workout, and I had an opportunity to speak with him and he was excited about what he was able to get accomplished [Wednesday],” Smitty did say he would not give Spoon a field test before making his decision.

For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

Say what you will about Atlanta being the only undefeated team left in the NFL. You can say they’ve only beaten one team with a winning record this season, or that their running attack is the team’s Achilles Heel, but what you cannot argue is that they keep winning. Sure, they may have narrowly defeated Dallas 19-13, but as the late Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis would say, “Just win baby.”

(Credit, Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

This is one of the rare games where there will not be a Good, Bad and Ugly report. Overall, Atlanta played a good game offensively, gaining 453 yards, and defensively, limiting Dallas to 377 yards with 59 yards coming on the final drive when they were just playing prevent. The Falcons special team plays were the only true black-eye for the Falcons. They only punted once, but missed two field goals.

Matt Ryan, Roddy White and Julio Jones all get an A-. As expected, this game was a battle of aerial offenses. The two quarterbacks stats were nearly identical. Ryan completed 24 of 34 passes for 342 yards while Tony Romo was 25 of 35 for 321 yards. Neither quarterback threw an interception. Why does Matty Ice get an A- rather than A? Romo threw for one touchdown, Ryan didn’t throw for any.

White and Jones each topped the 100-yard receiving mark, the first time this season the tandem has done that and the first time Jones has done this at the Georgia Dome. Roddy finished with seven receptions for 118 yards while Julio ended the game with five catches for 129 yards. Again, neither scored a touchdown.

Special congratulations should also be given to Roddy White for setting the new franchise record in receptions. In the third quarter Ryan found Roddy for a 26-yard catch, his longest gain of the night. With that catch, Jones had amassed 574 catches as a Falcon, breaking the record previously held by Terrance Mathis. This is the seventh franchise record that Roddy now owns.

Atlanta’s defense gets an A. Playing without Sean Weatherspoon the Falcons defense did an admirable job. They limited the Cowboys to just 65 yards on the ground. While Romo did eclipse the 300-yard passing mark, 59 of those yards came in the final drive when the defense was really just playing prevent. Take that drive out of the equation and Romo finished with 262 yards. Not a bad job when you consider Dallas averages nearly 300 yards passing a game (the third highest total in the league). Neither Dez Bryant nor Miles Austin eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark. The Falcons limited the two receivers to just 91 yards combined. The Cowboys tandem averaged almost 150 yards combined in their first seven games.

Michael Turner gets a B+. For just the second time this season, Turner the Burner rushed for more than 100 yards in a game. He did score Atlanta’s lone touchdown. The reason he doesn’t get an A for his game is the big 43-yard run in the third quarter. Take that out of the equation and Turner had just 59 yards on 19 carries for an average of 3.1 yards per carry. Not exactly highlight material.

Kicker Matt Bryant gets a B-. Bryant led all players in scoring with 13 points. He made four field goals of 45, 46, 36 and 32 yards. He did miss two kicks of 37 and 43 yards. Still, he converted 71 percent of his attempts (including the PAT).

With half the season now over for the Falcons, they still stand atop as the only undefeated team. The Chicago Bears and the Houston Texans are both 7-1. Atlanta will head to the Big Easy to take on the New Orleans Saints for just their second divisional game of the season. Kickoff to that game will be 1pm EST.

For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

A Falcons’ Superbowl run? Well that’s what told the New School crew… How does the DFW area feel about Jerry Jones and Romo?

Listen to the segment:

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It’s amazing how simply changing a game plan can so drastically change a team’s performance in a season. Matt Ryan is currently on pace to throw for more than 4,600 yards, 39 touchdowns with a QB rating of 103. This would shatter his previous personal bests of 4,100+ yards, 29 touchdowns and a QB rating of 92.2 (all of which happened last season).

(Credit,Rob Carr/Getty Images)

But why the seismic jump in statistics? After all, Ryan’s three main targets of Tony Gonzalez, Julio Jones and Roddy White all were with Matty Ice last season. One reason may be an overlooked addition–not a player, but on the coaching staff.

Atlanta’s new offensive coordinator, Dirk Koetter, may be the unsung hero of the Falcons dominance on offense this season. Coming over from the Jacksonville Jaguars, Koetter’s offensive playcalling has taken to Ryan and company like a duck to water.

The biggest change to the Falcons offense has been going from a run-first state of mind to a more vertical passing threat. This has allowed Atlanta to score nearly 29 points a game, currently the fifth most in the league. But it’s been a specific pass play that has given the Falcons such a boost and made them so dangerous: the screen pass.

It may be one of the most simplistic “trick” plays in the game, but when done right, it is not just effective, but very tough to contain. Last season Atlanta completed 16-20 screen passes for only 68 yards and no scores in the entire season. Against Philly in Week 8, Ryan was 9-10 for 81 yards and one touchdown.

That’s right. In just one game this season, Matty Ice threw half the number of screen passes that he threw all of last season. This obviously means that the play is working and that’s because Atlanta has figured out how to modify the screen pass to fit whatever scenario they’re currently facing on the field be it a conventional running back screen, tight end or jailbreak screen.

The beauty of using the screen pass means that Atlanta doesn’t have to rely on just Jones, Gonzalez and White to make all the receptions. The screen pass that the Falcons scored a touchdown on was thrown to fullback Jason Snelling who nearly walked into the endzone because of the great blocking up front and the misdirection that Julio Jones created by coming out of the backfield.

While scoring plays are always a bonus, the true purpose of the screen pass is to disrupt the timing and pressure the defensive line puts on the quarterback. Philadelphia’s defensive line is traditionally known for putting lots of pressure on opposing quarterbacks, making them throw earlier than they want to. When the screen pass is established, the defense has to tone down the blitzes because one called at the wrong time could easily mean Atlanta gets a huge chunk of yardage off a play designed to gain just a handful of yards.

In addition to disrupting the timing of the defense, the screen pass can also allow wide receivers–specifically Roddy White–to lay down some devastating legal hits on defenders. In the third quarter, Ryan threw a modified jailbreak screen pass for Jones. When Jones caught the ball out of the backfield, it allowed White to set up a legal pick on the defender covering Jones (because Jones was still within one yard of the line of scrimmage), which not only took Jones’ defender out of the play, but White’s defender was rendered void because he was caught up in the initial pick.

If properly defended, that play would have gained five yards at best. Instead it went for almost 40 yards. This means that until some team figures out how to defend against it, Atlanta has no reason to remove it from their game plan.

For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

The Falcons improved to 7-0 for the first time in franchise history while the Eagles (3-4) lost after a bye for the first time in 14 games under coach Andy Reid since 1999.

Ryan finished 22 of 29 for 262 yards and three TDs for his first win against his hometown team in three tries.

Michael Vick didn’t turn the ball over for once, but he played so-so and failed to beat his former team in his second start against the Falcons since returning to the NFL in 2009.

The Falcons scored on their first six possessions before punting for the first time with 5:35 left.

Atlanta may still be undefeated, but they are far from perfect. For the most part, Atlanta’s offense has been solid. Atlanta’s 275 passing yards each game is the tenth most in the league and their 14 passing touchdowns are the second most.

On defense Atlanta’s mantra appears to be of the “bend but don’t break” mentality. Giving up just 223 yards of total offense each game, the eleventh ranked defense does an even better job at preventing points from being scored. Of the teams to have played six games, Atlanta has given up just 113 points, the second least amount allowed.

While as a team Atlanta has been playing well, not all players are performing at top efficiency. This is a list of players who have either failed to meet their expectations or have done much more than expected.

Rising

Quarterback Matt Ryan is off to his best start as a pro. Completing nearly 68 percent of his throws, Ryan has thrown for 1756 yards with 14 touchdown passes and just six interceptions. He is currently on pace to throw for career-highs in passing yards (4,683), touchdowns (37) and rushing touchdowns (3).

(Credit, Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

While Ryan started off red hot, his last three games have shown that he is still human. The first three games Ryan threw for 8 touchdowns and just one interception. The past three games have been more difficult throwing just 6 touchdowns and 5 interceptions with 3 coming this past week. With all the passing though Ryan is on pace to throw for a career-high in interceptions with 16. His current record is 14 interceptions thrown his sophomore year.

Kicker Matt Bryant has quietly morphed into Atlanta’s most efficient scorer. Bryant is currently 13 for 14 on field goals with a season-high 55 yard kick. In the past three weeks, Bryant has kicked two game-winning field goals. Given how cool he’s been under pressure Matt Ryan might want to think about handing over the “Matty-Ice” nickname.

Living up to Expectations

Atlanta’s receiving corps. With Matt Ryan doing such a great job passing the ball Atlanta’s three-headed monster of Julio Jones, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez have each come through when needed. You can’t individually rank these players because when one has difficulty for a game Ryan simply targets the other two receivers.

These three receivers have each led the Falcons in receiving yards at least once this season. These receivers account for 110 of Ryan’s 160 completions, 1,359 of Ryan’s 1,756 passing yards and 12 of Ryan’s 14 passing touchdowns.

Falling

Running back Michael Turner has been consistently inconsistent. Except for the game against Carolina, Turner hasn’t eclipsed the 100-yard rushing total. Turner is currently on pace to run for 952 yards and just eight touchdowns. Since becoming a Falcon, Turner’s lowest offensive production was in 2009 when he ran for 871 yards and 10 touchdowns. However Turner only played in 11 games that season.

For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

(Credit, Patrick Smith, Getty Images)

The Falcons should consider themselves a very lucky team. In the current “pass-happy” era of the NFL having a consistent wide receiver is a necessity. Atlanta doesn’t have one good receiver, it has three. With veterans Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez as passing threats, Julio Jones is now the newest aerial threat in Atlanta’s three-headed monster receiving game.

He may only be a sophomore in the NFL, but don’t confuse his youth with a lack of experience. Having been one of the most heavily recruited football players since his high school days, Jones knows what it takes to compete with the spotlight directly on him.

Even as a high schooler, Jones has been constantly compared to other successful NFL wide receivers. Sports Illustrated likened him to Terrell Owens saying Jones was “a big, physical wideout with great strength, amazing jumping ability and uncanny speed for such a big player.” ESPN’s website saw a different type of wide receiver, but equally good saying Jones “is a unique, rare prospect for the wide receiver position with his supreme blend of size, power, speed and agility. He reminds us of a high school version of Michael Irvin, but at this stage Jones is more explosive and faster.”

As a senior in high school Jones was one of the biggest recruits in the country. ESPN ranked Jones as the #2 overall prep prospect and the #4 overall prospect by Rivals.com. Both sites listed Jones as the top receiver prospect.

Staying near home, Jones decided to attend the University of Alabama. His impact was immediately felt when Jones became the first true freshman receiver to start a season opener for Alabama. In his first game against the Clemson Tigers, Jones had four receptions for 28 yards and a touchdown in the Crimson Tide’s victory.

Jones started all fourteen games for the Crimson Tide in 2008. He finished his first year with 58 receptions for 924 yards and four touchdown catches. Julio was named to the Associated Pressa second team All-SEC team, the SEC Coaches’ All-Freshman Team and the SEC Freshman of the year.

With his impressive freshman year completed, more was expected of this talented wide receiver. Before the 2009 campaign, Jones was selected to the first team All-SEC Coaches’ Football Team. Julio was just one of four players unanimously voted to the team including Tim Tebow, Eric Berry and Ciron Black. However, Jones suffered somewhat of a sophomore slump.In thirteen games in 2009 Jones caught 43 passes for 596 yards and four touchdowns as the Crimson Tide won the BCS National Championship. Jones was the Tide’s leading receiver of the title game.

In Jones’ junior year, it was clear Julio had finally begun to realize his true potential. Voted as a member of the All-SEC Preseason team, Jones offensive numbers soared. Julio pulled in an Alabama record 78 catches for 1,133 yards and seven touchdowns, the fourth most ever by a Tide receiver. Jones didn’t just score by catching balls. He ran the ball 8 times for 135 yards and two touchdowns and occasionally returned punts and kickoffs. For his hard work, Jones was a unanimous 1st Team All-SEC selection in 2010.

Just like with college, Jones was one of the most heavily coveted draft choices. The Atlanta Falcons saw the potential in him and traded five draft picks to the Cleveland Browns to move up to the sixth overall spot that year. While he wore #8 in college, Jones wears #11 in Atlanta as a tribute to the year he was drafted.

Julio’s first NFL touchdown came in Week 9 against the Indianapolis Colts. At the end of the season, Jones led all rookies with eight touchdown receptions. His 54 receptions and 959 receiving yards were second only to A.J. Green for rookies that year.

With his first full NFL season under his belt, Jones’ future with the Falcons appears to be great. With Matt Ryan now coming into his prime, Jones appears poised to run roughshod on defenses and Falcons receiving records at the same time.

.For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

With nine players listed on the Falcon’s injury report, Atlanta should consider themselves lucky since only one player is listed as out for the game against Washington.

(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Tight End Michael Palmer (Shoulder) didn’t participate in any practices this week and last last week will not play. Since Atlanta has Tony Gonzalez and does not worry if they need backup Tommy Gallarda to come in for a twin tight end formation.

Three Falcons are listed as questionable: center Todd McClure (pectoral), safety William Moore (hip) and running back Lousaka Polite (hamstring) all had limited practice reps on Friday.

The other five Falcons are all listed as probable. The defensive players are defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux (groin) and cornerback Chris Owens (head). The offensive players are wide receiver Julio Jones (hand) and running back Antone Smith (hamstring). All five of these players were fully active in Friday’s practice.

For Jones, this is the second week in a row with the hand injury, specifically a right hand laceration. According to Atlanta offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, the injury to Jones’ hand is why the Sophomore wide receiver receiver had only one catch last week against Carolina. Now with another week of his hand recovering, Jones has no excuses for another sub-par performance against Washington, the second worst passing defense in the league which last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers allowed two receivers to gain 100 receiving yards..

While Nicholas is also on the injury list for the second week in a row, that’s not a bad sign. Last week Nicholas not only played against Carolina, but he was the team leader with eight tackles, six of them solo.

Washington may only have eight players on the injury report, but two of them are listed as out. These two players are cornerback Cedric Griffin (hamstring) and safety Brandon Meriweather (knee). Neither men practiced during the week.

The news gets worse for the Redskins. Starting wide receiver Pierre Garcon (foot) one of the more reliable receivers for Washington is listed as possible but the health of the wide receiver corps for Washington continues to dwindle. Brandon Banks (hip) and Aldrick Robinson (head) are also listed as probable. All three receivers were fully involved in practice participation.

Former Atlanta Falcon cornerback DeAngelo Hall (illness) is listed as probable and did not participate in practice. Tackle Trent Williams (knee) was involved fully in practice and is the final Redskin classified as probable. The final injury spot for Washington is running back Evan Royster (knee) who was limited in practice and is listed as questionable. .

Fortunately with the majority of the injuries not being key components of their respective teams, fans watching the game should be in for an offensive barn burner type of game. Kickoff is 1pm Eastern Time at Washington’s Fed Ex Field.

For reference:

• Probable: a 75% chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game
• Questionable: a 50% chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game
• Doubtful: a 25% chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game
• Out: there is no chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game

For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

If the Falcons weren’t already worried about their lack of a running game, they should be now. Of the four Falcons listed as out for Sunday’s game, two of them are members of the backfield.

Fullback Lousaka Polite (hamstring) and halfback Antone Smith (hamstring) did not participate in practice at all this week and are listed as out. With two additional Atlanta backs listed as out for the game, there is a possibility that practice squad member Josh Vaughan might suit up for Atlanta as they host Carolina Sunday. The other two Falcons listed as out, cornerback Chris Owens (head) and tight end Michael Palmer (shoulder) also did not participate in any of the week’s practices.

(Credit, Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

While it’s never easy to replace anybody who’s injured, Atlanta appears to have lucked out with their tight end situation. Tony Gonzalez will be the starting tight end but if the Falcons need to go to a two tight end formation Mike Smith says Tommy Gallarda has been filling in nicely this week.

“Tommy Gallarda is a guy that hasn’t played a whole lot for us, but he’s very accomplished at both catching and blocking” Smith said. “He should be able to step in and fill that role. The biggest issue is normally, we would carry three tight ends and we already know Michael is not going to play this week, so we’re only going to have two active tight ends. We have got to have a plan in place like always.”

Fortunately for Atlanta, the additional five members listed on the injury report were available and by the end of the week, everyone but linebacker Mike Peterson (ribs) fully participated in Friday’s practice. Peterson was limited the entire week and is the only Falcon listed as questionable.

The other four Falcons listed all finished up the week fully participating and are all listed as probable. They are wide receiver Julio Jones (hand), tackle Tyson Clabo (hip), defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux (groin) and linebacker Stephen Nicholas (thigh).

The Carolina Panthers appear to have been bit by the injury bug worse this week than Atlanta. Ten Panthers were listed on the injury report. However, guard Mike Pollak (shoulder) is the only Carolina player listed as out for the game.

Five Panthers are listed as probable. They are running back Jonathan Stewart (toe), defensive end Thomas Keiser (tibia), safety Colin Jones (shoulder) cornerback Chris Gamble (shoulder) and tackle Byron Bell (ankle). All five men fully participated in Friday’s practice.

Defensive end Antwan Applewhite (knee) is the only Panther listed as doubtful. He did not participate in practice this week.

The other three Panthers listed as questionable are linebacker Jon Beason (knee), linebacker Thomas Davis (calf) and defensive end Greg Hardy. Beason was the only of these three limited in Friday’s practice.

Beason played last week’s game against the Giants with a sore shoulder. This week, it’s his knee. “Right now, the knee is really what concerns us,” Carolina head coach Ron Rivera said. “He played with the shoulder (injury) and the knee is inflamed right now.”

For reference:

• Probable: a 75% chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game
• Questionable: a 50% chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game
• Doubtful: a 25% chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game
• Out: there is no chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game

For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

One of the drawbacks to playing a Monday Night Football game is that you have even less time to prepare for the following week’s match-up. Less preparation time means a greater chance for injuries.

Antone Smith will sit against the Chargers. (Credit= Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Not wanting to risk injuring any of his players on a short week of preparation, Falcons head coach Mike Smith kept running back Antone Smith (hamstring) and cornerback Christopher Owens (concussion) out of practice during the week. Both men are listed as out for Sunday’s game against San Diego, scheduled for 4:05 p.m.

Tackle Tyson Clabo (hip), defensive end John Abraham (knee), linebackers Sean Weatherspoon (thigh) and Stephen Nicholas (thigh), and both starting wide receivers Roddy White (knee) and Julio Jones (thigh) were limited in practice throughout the week. The good news is that none of these players are listed as out for the Chargers game.

Tyson Clabo and Sean Weatherspoon are listed as questionable. Jones, White, Abraham and Nichols are all listed as probable.

While having six players listed as either questionable or probable may seem like an issue, Falcons fans shouldn’t worry too much. Both Clabo and Witherspoon were listed as questionable last week against Denver. Both men not only suited up for Monday’s game, but were active in 100 percent of their unit’s snaps. Clabo played all 67 offensive snaps and Weatherspoon played all 73 defensive snaps.

On Wednesday, Mike Smith explained why so many Falcons were limited in practice. “The reason a lot of those guys are limited in their participation is [because] we are on a short week,” Smith said. “There aren’t even 48 hours out from the end of the [Monday] ball game. We wanted to rest some of those guys.”

With Owens as a definite out, Dominique Franks will take over at the nickel spot for Atlanta. In the game against Denver, Franks was on the field for 60 out of the 73 defensive snaps (82 percent). Antoine Smith is on several special teams for the Falcons. Coach Smith didn’t say who would replace Antoine.

San Diego has seven men listed on the injury report.Tackle Jared Gaither (back) and cornerback Shareece Wright (foot) did not participate in practice and are listed as out for the game.

The other five Chargers, running backs Curtis Brinkley (knee) and Ryan Mathews (clavicle), wide receiver Eddie Royal (shoulder), and tight ends Antonio Gates (ribs) and Dante Rosario (calf) all fully participated in Friday’s practice. Mathews is the only Charger listed as questionable. All other men on the injury report are listed as probable.

Coach Mike Smith isn’t taking any chances in hoping that San Diego playmakers Mathews and Gates are out of the lineup. Smith said the Falcons are preparing for the game by assuming both men will be healthy enough to play. On Saturday, the Falcons will go through a walk-through at PetCo Park to prepare for their trip to QUALCOMM stadium.

For reference:

• Probable: a 75% chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game
• Questionable: a 50% chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game
• Doubtful: a 25% chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game
• Out: there is no chance the injured player will be medically cleared for the game

For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

The Falcons should consider joining the AFC West. So far, Atlanta is 2-0 against teams from the division with wins against Kansas City and Denver. This week they hope to make it three in a row as they face the San Diego Chargers (Atlanta will play the fourth AFC West team, the Oakland Raiders, on October 14 at the Georgia Dome).

Just like the Monday Night Football game against Denver, Atlanta will be facing a very capable quarterback in Philip Rivers as both teams hope to leave QUALCOMM Stadium a perfect 3-0.

For the Falcons, the key to winning in San Diego is to figure out the Chargers defense. While the offensive numbers aren’t eye-popping, they’ve been enough. San Diego averages 247 yards in the air and 90 on the ground (15^th and 22^nd respectively), but scores 30 points a game (fifth best in the league).

Rivers may have only passed for 515 yards in the first two games, but he’s been very efficient. He’s completed nearly 74 percent of his passes, thrown four touchdowns and only one interception. Rivers’ QB rating is an impressive 110.7.

There are two primary weapons for Rivers in the air. Receiver Malcom Floyd leads the team with 10 receptions and 175 yards, but tight end Dante Rosario has three of Philips’ four touchdowns. Perennial Pro-Bowl candidate tight end Antonio Gates has only made four receptions for 43 yards in the first two games. If Atlanta’s secondary performs like they did against Peyton Manning, Rivers and his wide receivers should be no problem. Atlanta currently has a +7 turnover ratio,

Defensively is where the Chargers reign supreme. While San Diego allows 225 yards of passing offense (twelfth best in the league), they rank in the top five in the other major categories. San Diego allows just 12 points a game (second best), 265 total yards of offense (third best) and just 41.5 rushing yards (tops in the league).

The San Diego rushing defense could be a huge problem for Atlanta. The Falcons currently have the 26^th ranked rushing attack, averaging slightly less than 76 yards a game, and Atlanta’s top running back Michael Turner may not be suiting up for the game.

If Turner doesn’t play, Atlanta needs to find a replacement running back and quickly. Matt Ryan is Atlanta’s second leading rusher with 44 yards and the only Falcon to average nearly five yards a carry. Ryan also is the only Falcon other than Turner to have a rushing touchdown.

Just like the Chargers, Atlanta’s yardage numbers may not be impressive (325.5 yards a game, 21^st in the league), but the points they put up definitely are. Atlanta’s 67 total points scored is second only to Washington’s 68 points.

Just like Rivers, Matt Ryan has been the very definition of an elite quarterback. Ryan has completed 70 percent of his passes, five touchdowns and no interceptions for a QB rating of 117.6. Ryan has three receivers currently over 100 yards receiving already: Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez and Julio Jones. The trio is responsible for all of Matty Ice’s touchdown passes.

For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

Following the victory, here are a few things we now know about the 2012 Falcons:

The Good

The Falcons’ passing game looks promising. One big question entering this season was how often Atlanta would throw the ball. Using Dirk Koetter’s fast-tempo passing attack, the answer appears to be a lot. Matt Ryan finished the game 23-of-31 for 299 yards and three touchdowns. In addition, Ryan didn’t focus on just one or two receivers, completing multiple passes to five different players.

One reason for the success of the passing game was the improved pass protection. Dropping back to throw 30-plus times, Ryan was sacked only one time. Left tackle Sam Baker did a good job of protecting Ryan’s blindside throughout the game.

While the focus of the passing attack will be Julio Jones and Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez is still a viable option. Jones and White finished with six catches each for a combined 195 yards. Gonzalez brought down five passes for 53 yards and a touchdown. Gonzalez may be 36 years old, but he can still come through when needed.

When the Falcons couldn’t score touchdowns on Sunday, they turned to their kicker Matt Bryant. He didn’t disappoint, going four for four both on field goals and extra points, scoring a total of 16 points.

The Bad

While Atlanta’s offense was good throughout the game, the defense had trouble getting off the field. Kansas City was 11-of-16 on third-down conversions. It didn’t seem to matter if it was third and short, medium or long. The Falcons’ defense just had difficulty getting Matt Cassel off the field.

One main reason for Atlanta’s inability to get off the field was their lack of pressure from the defensive line. Cassel finished the game completing 21 of 33 passes for 258 yards and a touchdown. It wasn’t until late in the third quarter when the Falcons finally recorded their first of three sacks.

The Ugly

If Ryan continues to throw for nearly 300 yards a game, the lack of a running game shouldn’t be a problem. However everyone knows there will be a game when Ryan is shut down and the game will have to be won in the trenches.

The Falcons amassed just 84 yards on 23 attempts. Atlanta’s starting running back, Michael Turner, only ran for 32 yards on 11 attempts and it was Ryan who scored the lone rushing touchdown for the Falcons.

While it’s tough to complain about a team scoring 40 points in a game, Atlanta’s lack of red zone efficiency prevented them from putting up 50 points. Atlanta made it inside the Chiefs 20 yard-line seven times but only scored four touchdowns including going two for three with a “goal to go” situation.

That being said, a win is a win and Atlanta is off to a good start. They hope to carry the momentum of their Week 1 game into their Monday Night game against Denver for the home opener.

For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

Offensively, Atlanta deserves an A for effort
Atlanta scored early and often. Matt Ryan’s first of two touchdown passes to Julio Jones was the first Sunday touchdown of the season. As a team, the Falcons scored on each of their first seven possessions. Ryan finished the game with 299 yards passing, four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) and no turnovers.

Gonzalez enjoyed his return to his original NFL city. “It’s been like a homecoming for me,” Gonzalez said. “I just want all the fans to know, ‘I love you very much and thank you for letting this day be special.’” Gonzalez should probably be thanking the Falcons for making this day so special.

In addition to Jones’ two touchdown catches, Gonzalez was the recipient of Ryan’s third. When Gonzalez caught his TD pass, the ball squirted loose into the end zone. Ryan chased it down and gave it back to Gonzalez, who promptly dunked the ball over the goalpost, a celebration he did many times as a Kansas City Chief.

While the majority of the fans booed him for this one celebration, there still is a level of respect and love from the Chiefs Nation. “He’s such a great part of this organization,” Ryan said. “I think deep down in their hearts, Kansas City fans were happy to see that one more time.” Showing his sense of humor, Ryan did add “”Maybe not at the time. Maybe in retrospect.”

Grade: A

Kicker Matt Bryant deserves an A for his play
The first half of the game was closely contested. Thanks to their special teams, Atlanta went into halftime with a slim 20-17 lead. Kicker Matt Bryant deserves an A for his play, going 4 for 4 for the Falcons on field goals and gave the Falcons their permanent lead with 10 seconds left in the second quarter with a 21 yard chip shot field goal. Atlanta punter Matt Bosher was only needed one time, with his sole punt going for 52 yards.

In the third quarter, Ryan Succop missed an early field goal. That was all Atlanta needed to open the floodgates against Kansas City. Atlanta went on to score 20 straight points as they put the game out of reach.

Falcon’s defense brought their A game
The Falcon defense appeared to have been in a “bend but don’t break” style of play for the first half. In the second half, they definately brought their A game, forcing the Chiefs to commit three turnovers.

Jones may have led the Falcons with six receptions and 108 receiving yards, but he was far from the only passing threat for Ryan. Ryan completed passes to seven different receivers (including Jones) and ended up at the Falcon’s second-leading rusher of the game with 25 yards.

One of the possible reasons for the Falcon’s second-half dominance were the missing Chiefs defenders. Starting safety Kendrick Lewis, cornerback Brandon Flowers and defensive tackle Anthony Toribio were out of the lineup because of injuries. These men were three of the top five Kansas City tacklers last year.

Never one to make excuses, Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel did not cite their absence as the reason for his team’s loss. “The fact that they weren’t there, really no one cares,” said Crennel, “because all anyone wants to know is did you win or did you lose, and we lost today.”

The Chiefs travel to Buffalo for their week 2 matchup. For the Falcons, they get an extra day of practice (or rest, depending on their coaches mood) in preparation for their home opener against the Denver Broncos Monday night, September 17.

For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Falcons news, see CBS Sports Atlanta.

Matthew Asher is a freelance writer covering all things Atlanta sports related. His work can be found onExaminer.com.

Ryan also ran for a TD, while Julio Jones caught six passes for 108 yards and two scores.

The Falcons took advantage of a Chiefs defense missing four starters. Pro Bowl linebacker Tamba Hali was suspended for an unspecified violation of the league’s substance-abuse policy, and three others were injured.

Still, Kansas City matched Atlanta most of the first half, trailing 20-17 at the break. But a missed field goal by Ryan Succop early in the third quarter proved to be the turning point.

Matt Cassel finished with 258 yards passing for Kansas City, but also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. The Falcons turned all three turnovers into points.

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Ryan Fitzpatrick (Photo Credit: Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

Every year, the marquee names dominate the early rounds of fantasy football drafts. But avid (and informed) competitors know these leagues are often won in the later rounds, with shrewd selections and by owners who exercise savvy self-control. With so many knowledgeable fantasy fanatics out there, getting a leg up grows more challenging each season. Everyone in your league might be ahead of the curve, so you have to think not one, but two steps ahead of them.

Here are five fantasy reaches and sleepers to help you join the ranks of the fantasy football summa cum laude.

Reaches:

1. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Quarterback, Buffalo Bills

As soon as Buffalo gave Fitzpatrick that big extension, the Bills started to look more like an Ivy League unit than the team that shocked the Patriots. Even though Buffalo has shown a willingness to throw the ball, Fitzpatrick may not be the signal-caller if his decline persists. And there’s no reason to believe he’ll duplicate his early performance again. Stay away.

2. Drew Brees, Quarterback, New Orleans Saints

In the days of French chivalry and musketeers, being branded with the fleur-de-lis marked you as a criminal forever. Now, Brees wears that same symbol on a disgraced Saints squad, reeling from Roger Goodell’s condemnation and stunted without its cream-of-the-crop coach. Considering that it would be almost impossible for Brees to duplicate his historic production from last year, you’re better off letting someone else snag him early in the first round.

Reggie Bush (Photo Credit: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

3. Reggie Bush, Running Back, Miami Dolphins

The former Heisman winner-turned-USC-scapegoat seemed absolutely cooked in the first half of last season. Challenged by rookie tailback Daniel Thomas, he appeared to have lost a step. Bush then he responded with a staggering 519 rushing yards in December alone, en route to a 1,000-yard season. This, of course, has caused many to catapult him up their draft boards, but his frightening injury history and likelihood of regressing make him a questionable pick. Let someone else take that gamble while you opt for a more secure selection.

4. Jerome Simpson, Wide Receiver, Minnesota Vikings

Jerome Simpson (Photo Credit: Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images)

Simpson scored perhaps the most phenomenal touchdown in NFL history when he executed a front-flip over a defender into the end zone. Lots of people saw that highlight and started salivating about his freakish athleticism. Don’t fall for that. This is the NFL, not Ringling Bros. Just because he was acrobatic in Cincinnati doesn’t mean he’ll dominate in Minnesota.

5. Denver Broncos Defense

This unit played way above its head last year, and started to show some serious cracks near the end. The Broncos should also find themselves playing at a faster pace, thanks to the Peyton Manning addition. And teams may air the ball out more against them if they fall behind early. Tebow’s clock-killing, ball-control offense may not have produced quick points, but it did keep the defense off the field.

Sleepers:

Tim Tebow (Photo Credit: Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

1. Tim Tebow, Quarterback, New York Jets

How is it possible for the most polarizing, over-analyzed player to slip under the radar? Amazingly, Tebow has, thanks to the plethora of pundits who undervalue his skill set. They were more caught up with the circus at Jets camp than the production we’ll see from No. 15. Tebow is already slated to get 30 percent of the Jets’ snaps, with a decent probability of becoming the starter by midseason. More importantly, his best attributes are posting rushing yards and punching it in the end zone, both of which can pile up the points. This sleeping giant can go from slumbering to lumbering faster than Rex Ryan can down a Happy Meal.

2. Carson Palmer, Quarterback, Oakland Raiders

Palmer nearly retired before being shipped to Oakland, and his performance since emigrating from Ohio has been mediocre at best. You may be thrown off by his 13 touchdown-16 interception ratio last season, but so will everybody else. A workable schedule, combined with a full offseason to learn the offense, should afford him the chance to return to his old form. Tuck him away as a strong QB2 possibility.

3. Jonathan Dwyer, Running Back, Pittsburgh Steelers

Jonathan Dwyer (Photo Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

With Rashard Mendenhall’s health in question, Isaac Redman has become a popular name to get carries in the Steelers’ smash-mouth system. In the midst of this, everyone seems to have forgotten about Dwyer, who owns lightning-quick breakout speed and could easily become Pittsburgh’s feature back. He’s the true definition of a sleeper; if given the opportunity, he will boost your team significantly. Grab him in a late round if you can.

4. Julio Jones, Wide Receiver, Atlanta Falcons

Jones made quite a splash in his rookie season out of Alabama, but he still didn’t get nearly the attention he deserved. Don’t be fooled by the lack of receptions; Jones averaged 17.8 yards per catch, and he should become even more potent with a year’s experience under his belt running deep routes. Pick him and smile as he matches stats with elite receivers taken before him.

5. Eric Decker, Wide Receiver, Denver Broncos

With Peyton Manning leading the huddle, old codger John Fox will have to abandon his run-run-run-and-run ways for an aerial attack. That means Denver receivers should benefit significantly, especially Decker — who proved competent enough when thrown to last season. Remember how incredible Manning made Reggie Wayne look all those years as the second receiver to Marvin Harrison?

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Adam Spunberg is a sports contributor for CBS Local Digital Media. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamSpunberg.

Atlanta’s Matt Ryan led two touchdown drives, including a scoring pass to Julio Jones, before Painter took over.

Ryan completed 9 of 13 passes for 155 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He was 5 for 5 for 71 yards, including the 7-yard touchdown pass to Jones, on the opening drive for Atlanta (No. 13 in the AP Pro32).

Joe Flacco completed 9 of 12 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown for Baltimore (No. 5). The Falcons led 14-0 before Flacco threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Ed Dickson midway through the second quarter.

Each starting quarterback left the game in the second quarter.

Falcons News & Notes:

Rookie fullback Bradie Ewing left the Falcons’ preseason game against the Ravens with a right knee injury, and linebacker Akeem Dent left with a head injury.

Ewing was hurt while blocking on Dominique Franks’ 45-yard punt return midway through the first quarter.

Ewing, a fifth-round pick from Wisconsin, was helped off the field before being placed on a cart and driven to the locker room.

Dent, who started at middle linebacker, walked off the field after he was hurt when blocking for a Falcons punt & did not return to the game.

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For the Atlanta Falcons, the 2011-2012 Season was a tale of highs, lows, skepticism, and abruptness.  The coaching staff and front office set out of put the final pieces in line to make a championship run by obtaining wide receiver Julio Jones through the draft and defensive end Ray Edwards through free agency.  The moves were controversial, especially the move for Jones because of the draft picks given up.  It was regarded as a reactionary move due to such an ugly loss at the hands of the Green Bay Packers the season before.

It seems that the Falcons are once again reacting to a terrible season ending loss in the playoffs to the eventual Super Bowl Champion New York Giants 24-2.  This is totally understandable, considering the Falcons have finally achieved milestones that the franchise has never witnessed before, but the owner, front office, and fan base wants to soar to greater heights.  This is a sure sign that complacency is the enemy for the “Dirty Birds” but the moves this off-season have to be carefully calculated for continued success.  Due to the draft picks given up for Julio Jones last season, the Falcon Front Office and Thomas Dimitroff will have to be crafty in their approach to address needs and depth.

The Falcons currently have $30.6 million in cap space and with the team needing help at offensive line, defensive line, linebacker, and in the secondary the front office must be wise in their approach.  They must first choose which free agents are critical to the team that are worth keeping, which is even a greater task now that the Falcons have new coordinators.  Free agents Brent Grimes, John Abraham, Curtis Lofton, and Harry Douglas are at the top of the Falcon Free Agent list.  There are some prize free agents on the open market that are tempting for the Falcons, like a Mario Williams of the Houston Texans and Carl Nicks of the New Orleans Saints.  I foresee the Falcons leaving the splash in the water this season and work to obtain quality low to mid range free veteran free agents along with drafting the best players available excluding the quarterback and wide receiver positions.  The way of successful teams over the past few years has not been to abandon their plans, it has been to take the blueprint to the next level.  The Falcons’ Time is now but only with careful planning and great execution on and off the field.

Jamie Walker can be reached at jamie.walker@cbsradio.com and you can follow him on Twitter @coachjdub21.

Atlanta has won three of its last four games and is coming off a 31-23 victory at Carolina in Week 14 to improve to 8-and-5 on the season.

The Dirty Birds currently hold the fifth-seed in the NFC playoff picture and have a crucial head-to-head advantage over Detroit.

Chicago holds a tie-breaker over Atlanta, but has dropped three in-a-row to fall to 7-and-6.  Meanwhile, the Jags snapped a three-game slide with a 41-14 rout over Tampa Bay on Sunday to up their mark to 4-and-9.  Jacksonville is just 1-and-5 on the road this season.

The Jaguars beat the Falcons, 13-7, the last time the two teams met in 2007.

Falcons QB Matt Ryan on Jags defense:

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But I will question the play…

Why rush Michael Turner up the middle when you could have easily called a QB sneak with Matt Ryan and more than likely got the first down?

What happens to a Butterball on Thanksgiving Day?

They get stuffed… Just as Michael “Butterball” Turner did on the Falcons’ final possession leading to John Kasay’s 26-yard field goal in their overtime loss to the hated New Orleans Saints.

Even in the loss I’ll give the 5-and-4 Falcons some credit, things could have gotten a lot worse versus the Saints and their explosive but inconsistent offense and even though they trailed most of the game they managed to rally back after being down by 10 points in the final few minutes of regulation, tying the game on Matt Bryant’s 27-yard field goal on the final play of the fourth quarter.

Other things of note…

Michael Turner carried the ball 22 times for 96 yards, Julio Jones apparently re-injured his hamstring and sat out most of yesterday’s game, Harry Douglas had a great game catching 8 passes for 133 yards, Roddy White had 4 catches for 62 yards, and Matt Ryan finished 29-of-52 for 351 yards with two scores and two interceptions for Atlanta.

The Falcons host the Tennessee Titans 4pm, Sunday at the Georgia Dome.

Coach Smith comments on why he went for it on 4^th down.

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Julio Jones returned from a hamstring injury and caught three passes for 131 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Falcons kept the Colts winless with a 31-7 victory.

After the game Jones talked about the many weapons the Falcons have on the offensive side.

Michael Turner added 71 yards and a score via the ground in the win.

Jerraud Powers’ six-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter accounted for Indianapolis’ lone score of the game.

The Colts remain winless on the season at 0-and-9.

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Good: Julio Jones is catching on to the offense and is doing the little things to help the team.  Jones said in early interviews that he loved to block.  He has so far stuck to that promise.  He is also appearing not to be phased by all the attention that he is receiving, appearing mature beyond his years.  Considering what the Falcons gave up for him, early on he looks poised and ready to contribute.

Bad: Michael Turner does not look 100% as of yet.  He looks more like he is rounding into shape then actually being in it.  So far in pre-season he only has 54 yards on 18 attempts for only a three yard average and keeping in mind he had one run for 14 yards.  Keep his development on your radar.

The Ugly: The secondary seems to still be a huge problem for the Falcons although they are short one Dunta Robinson right now, who is nursing a hamstring injury.  Brent Grimes has highlights in the pre-season but also there are times where he is trying to make the Sports Center Top 10 instead of defending the pass.  The Falcons appear to have not solved the 3^rd corner problem with Chris Owens and Dominique Franks looking like neither want the job.

Overall, I believe the Atlanta Falcons will take a step back this season, by record.  I do not think they will duplicate or surpass what they did last season but I do believe they will still be a playoff team.  I do believe it will be feast or famine this year for the Falcons in that the pieces they got in the off-season were what they needed but they need them to produce in order to have success this season.  If not….they may need to reconstruct what their process is. 

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