Atlanta's Three Worst Calls

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

I've rewatched the second half about five time since last night...just gets better and better. It's never as easy as saying one team choked or the other just played really darn well...there are elements of both in this one. I'd say the major reason was lack of sustained drives by Atlanta's offense and the gassed defense, but keep in mind, many of Brady's throws were just perfectly placed into good coverage. A couple of things did stand out to me though, which were incredibly horrendous, I mean like the Patriots mistakes in SB46 X 10. Stuff that showed tangibly that many suspected the Falcons couldn't handle the pressure of the big stage. Here are the worst mistakes by the Falcons in order:

3. Third Quarter, 1:30 remaining, 2nd and 1 at New England 32. (28-9 Falcons)

Following the onside kick recovery, the Falcons got a quick nine yard gain and moved into field goal range. A second and one holding penalty is inexcusable in most any circumstance...this caused them to move backwards, ending in a sack and punt. It took them out of field goal range and also stopped the clock by ending the series.

2. Fourth Quarter, 3:56 remaining, 2nd and 11 at New England 23. (28-20 Falcons)

The Julio Jones catch sealed the deal, ala Mario Manningham, David Tyree, etc...except it didn't. In chip shot field goal range for Matt Bryant, and in a situation where it's nearly impossible to lose the game with a two possession lead at that point. What transpired next will likely haunt Ryan and the Falcons for the rest of their careers. First, Ryan, with plenty of time to throw the ball away, takes an 11-yard sack to push them back to the 35...yet they are STILL in field goal range. On the next play, a nine-yard gain is called back with a holding penalty, pushing them back to the 45. A very poor final third-and-33 attempt fell incomplete, leaving them roughly 10 yards away from a Super Bowl icing field goal. All in all, Jones basically won the game on that incredible catch, the team managed to back up 22 yards.

1. Fourth Quarter, 8:31 remaining, 3rd and 1 at Atlanta 36 (28-12 Falcons)

I'm going to play a little "I told you so." Up until this point in the night, I truly believed the Patriots had no chance to win this game, ever since they fell into a 21-3 hole. I knew the Falcons would need to be a part of their own destruction, and up until this point, it appeared they would hold on even despite a last charge from the Pats. But the moment I saw Matt Ryan setup in an empty shotgun set which clearly showed pass, I turned to my wife and told her, "I can't believe this...they might pull this out." In my opinion, this call was far, far worse than the Butler interception in SB49. I thought immediately that Kyle Shannahan had lost his mind and even become arrogant. The Falcons were averaging roughly 7 yards per carry, but even if they don't make it, they still run a huge chunk of time off the clock and punt the Patriots way back. It's almost like I expected it, was just waiting for Hightower to come in with the strip sack. Poor recognition by Matt Ryan to, exactly the type of stuff I've been saying all along why he isn't in TB12's class, not even close...situational football at its worst. This was THE momentum swinger of the game.

All in all, these are things that don't show up in the box score. Ryan choked tremendously. You could see it in his body language, even though the box score shows a passer rating of 144. This is how I saw the regular season as well, with Brady being by far the better QB but Ryan having better stats but still managing to lose many games in crunch time. Glad to see the Super Bowl confirmed my exact suspicions.

 

[edkk323]

Ryan had a decent second quarter. Blount fumble helped him. But the pick 6 I thought hurt him. It kept him off the field. He has not touched the ball for more than one hour until the third quarter.

So he had some nice throws and Julio made some out of this world catches. Nothing more.

 

[turkeyneck]

All key points.

The radio guys in Austin quoted Shannahan as saying "I blew it."

 

[Hammer of Thor]

I've rewatched the second half about five time since last night...just gets better and better. It's never as easy as saying one team choked or the other just played really darn well...there are elements of both in this one. I'd say the major reason was lack of sustained drives by Atlanta's offense and the gassed defense, but keep in mind, many of Brady's throws were just perfectly placed into good coverage. A couple of things did stand out to me though, which were incredibly horrendous, I mean like the Patriots mistakes in SB46 X 10. Stuff that showed tangibly that many suspected the Falcons couldn't handle the pressure of the big stage. Here are the worst mistakes by the Falcons in order:

3. Third Quarter, 1:30 remaining, 2nd and 1 at New England 32. (28-9 Falcons)

Following the onside kick recovery, the Falcons got a quick nine yard gain and moved into field goal range. A second and one holding penalty is inexcusable in most any circumstance...this caused them to move backwards, ending in a sack and punt. It took them out of field goal range and also stopped the clock by ending the series.

2. Fourth Quarter, 3:56 remaining, 2nd and 11 at New England 23. (28-20 Falcons)

The Julio Jones catch sealed the deal, ala Mario Manningham, David Tyree, etc...except it didn't. In chip shot field goal range for Matt Bryant, and in a situation where it's nearly impossible to lose the game with a two possession lead at that point. What transpired next will likely haunt Ryan and the Falcons for the rest of their careers. First, Ryan, with plenty of time to throw the ball away, takes an 11-yard sack to push them back to the 35...yet they are STILL in field goal range. On the next play, a nine-yard gain is called back with a holding penalty, pushing them back to the 45. A very poor final third-and-33 attempt fell incomplete, leaving them roughly 10 yards away from a Super Bowl icing field goal. All in all, Jones basically won the game on that incredible catch, the team managed to back up 22 yards.

1. Fourth Quarter, 8:31 remaining, 3rd and 1 at Atlanta 36 (28-12 Falcons)

I'm going to play a little "I told you so." Up until this point in the night, I truly believed the Patriots had no chance to win this game, ever since they fell into a 21-3 hole. I knew the Falcons would need to be a part of their own destruction, and up until this point, it appeared they would hold on even despite a last charge from the Pats. But the moment I saw Matt Ryan setup in an empty shotgun set which clearly showed pass, I turned to my wife and told her, "I can't believe this...they might pull this out." In my opinion, this call was far, far worse than the Butler interception in SB49. I thought immediately that Kyle Shannahan had lost his mind and even become arrogant. The Falcons were averaging roughly 7 yards per carry, but even if they don't make it, they still run a huge chunk of time off the clock and punt the Patriots way back. It's almost like I expected it, was just waiting for Hightower to come in with the strip sack. Poor recognition by Matt Ryan to, exactly the type of stuff I've been saying all along why he isn't in TB12's class, not even close...situational football at its worst. This was THE momentum swinger of the game.

All in all, these are things that don't show up in the box score. Ryan choked tremendously. You could see it in his body language, even though the box score shows a passer rating of 144. This is how I saw the regular season as well, with Brady being by far the better QB but Ryan having better stats but still managing to lose many games in crunch time. Glad to see the Super Bowl confirmed my exact suspicions.

Saw this online. Think it explains the clock management issue.....