Game Prep: Atlanta Falcons @ New England Patriots, Part 1

by MaPatsFan on Sep 23, 2009 7:31 PM EDT in News Comment 11 comments

Our 9-16 loss to division rival New York was hard. It was particularly hard because we couldn't shut Head Coach Rex Ryan's endless yapping. However, as Belichick might say, "That's in the past. We got a game this coming Sunday." BTW, can you guess what season we last matched up against Atlanta without looking it up? If you know the NFL scheduling rules, it's a piece of cake. I'll wait... Hint: We play each team in an NFC division every 4 years.

Our last matchup was October 9th, 2005 and it was a 31-28 victory for our Patriots. Tom Brady threw 23/27, 350 yards, and 3 touchdowns. The Falcons QB at the time, Matt Schaub, threw 18/34, 298 yards and 3 touchdowns as well. Even though Corey Dillon had 106 yards in 23 carries, Patrick Pass pounded in the first TD of the game with a 6 yard blast into the end zone.

Atlanta managed 3 TD's in the air, 2 Field Goals, and a 2 point conversion for 28 while the Patriots had 3 in the air, 1 on the ground, and, as was so often the case, an Adam Vinatieri 29 yarder with 20 seconds left to win the game by 3. To say this was a close game is putting it mildly.

Atlanta's a different team these days. Boston College alum, Matt Ryan, is tossing the pigskin for the Falcons. You remember Matt, don't you? A 6 year, $72 million contract with $34.75 million in guarantees raised a few eyebrows. Thinking that sum of cash was outrageous for a rookie, I hoped, to some degree, this BC grad would crash and burn. He didn't. The 11-5 Falcons nearly claimed the NFC South, but fell short when Carolina finished with a 12-4 record. Atlanta fell to the Arizona Cardinals in the first round of the NFC playoffs, 30-24.

A 2-0 Falcons, sharing the same record with division rival the New Orleans Saints, need this win to continue their reign at the top of the NFC South. Interestingly enough, Nawlins matches up against OUR division rival, the 1-1 Buffalo Bills. The ideal situation for us would be a win against Atlanta and a Saints beatdown of the Bills. Unfortunately, New Orleans would sit at the top of the NFC South and Atlanta would drop to second. You can see there's motivation for the Falcons to take it to our Patriots.

More to come tomorrow as I go through the Falcons' season up to this point.

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The Good News about the Loss to the Jets

OK, Captain Tom does not have his sea legs yet, but did anyone notice the Defense? I think they looked very good. The game was definitely not lost on account of them.

Despite the great D players the past couple of years, we lost that darned Superbowl game to the Giants because of the D, and we stumbled through many game of that winning season. This D looks good and I hope the O can keep up their part.

by The Mysterian on Sep 23, 2009 9:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Actually that catch was pure luck. I guess it was payback for our 3 rings

Jack of all trades-Master of None.....

by Peter Chung on Sep 24, 2009 8:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not entirely on the head of the defence

Even Tom himself guaranteed 24+ points coming into the Championship game. It didn’t happen, and suddenly there was pressure on a New England defence that hadn’t had to defend a score under… 30? 40? all year.

by Comedic.Sans on Sep 25, 2009 5:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Actually it was worse than that

The long ball killed us in 2007. Four or five play drives before a score doesn’t give the defense (especially an older defense) much time to breath. As the offense started to sputter toward the end of the season, the defense was worn out.

I’m content with Brady to Moss passes that aren’t instant touchdowns. It’s nice if they can pull one out when needed, but we definitely need to set the pace of the game.

The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.

by SlotMachinePlayer on Sep 25, 2009 9:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I know a loss is never good, but if you expected Tom to cruise in the 1st half of the season you were a dreamer like me...

I hate the loss , but on the other hand I like what you said regarding the defense, now we just have to put it all together. I like our chances this week

Jack of all trades-Master of None.....

by Peter Chung on Sep 23, 2009 10:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Change is the word

It is pretty amazing reading a game summary from just four years ago and pretty much everybody doing anything is now gone from the team. Except Brady, of course.

by hythlodaeus on Sep 24, 2009 2:16 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I like the Pats in this one.

The Pats just don’t lose 2 in a row. At home and desperate. Atlanta is no slouch so they’re gonna need to bring their A game. Welker needs to play on Sunday.

by Freddyd on Sep 24, 2009 1:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

+1

Edelman did a nice impersonation, but it’s not the same. I see Brady thrwoing for 3TD’s in this one

Jack of all trades-Master of None.....

by Peter Chung on Sep 24, 2009 8:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Personally, I'd prefer to see three rushing TDs

Brady’s thrown 100 times in two games, and not exactly efficiently or effectively. He’s best when he’s got a good balance, and that involves a good run game. So a good run game now means a great passing game later. Bring on some 200 yard total rushing games.

by Comedic.Sans on Sep 25, 2009 5:45 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I predicted a rushing game last week

and I was, as Kramer would say, w-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-y off. It won’t stop me from predicting another one this week.

Keep the faith!

by Marima on Sep 25, 2009 6:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I still don't see why they abandoned the run

Who is making the O play calls? Pees? Belichick? Brady? If it’s Brady, he probably wants the ball in his own hands, which would be fine if he hadn’t been out of the game for a year. I’m not seeing any decisive plan in it – they moved away from a running game that was doing pretty well, and was bound to improve, given the defence would inevitably slow down and the running game in general and multiple-RB rotation in particular would keep the O-line and RBs fresh.

by Comedic.Sans on Sep 25, 2009 6:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs