DaveEG
Rookie
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2017
- Messages
- 40
- Reaction score
- 284
Long thread. No one under 40 will make it to the end! Summary:
1) Falcons D is better
2)Falcons O is far less consistent
3)The potential of the Patriots D far exceeds their level of execution so far
Here's hoping both teams walk away healthy and the that the team that comes closest to playing to its potential wins.
_____________________
Greetings. Long time no speak. After the way the season ended last year, I'm just glad the teams are playing football again. I'm sure the media will remind us about what happened all week long. However, my concerns about what it going on this year has replaced any worries about how last year ended.
As many of you will recall, there were several reasons going into the LI that I thought the Falcons had a great chance as a win. So far this year, I am finding optimism hard to come by. That said, I'll share a few reads on the Falcons with you to get the discussion started.
1) The expectations coming into the season were that the defense would be modestly improved and that the offense would regress to some degree. Through five games, that is right where we are at.
2) The criticism of Ryan's play by many is a little overblown. The offense does have 7 turnovers in the last three games, but 3 of the picks were deflections off of receivers and only 1 was a truly ugly pass. Two of the turnovers were on ASJ quality questionable calls. By that I mean they were not necessarily blown calls, they were just close enough for argument to be guaranteed.
3) The defensive improvement is probably not as strong as the raw numbers look like. Where the defense is struggling this season plays into the Patriots strength. We are giving up precious little to outside receivers, but we are being generous to the slot, TEs, and RBs in the passing game. We are starting to look a little like Quinn's Seattle days in that we give up a lot of short stuff, but can usually make the one nice play that will stop a drive.
4) Campbell is a different man than he was last season. He will not shut Gronk down, but he has a chance to keep him from beating us all by himself.
5) Our 2nd year RG has really turned the corner, but the RT looked really rusty coming off an injury and the bye last week. Wes got beat up and schooled the first two weeks. That said, by advanced metrics he has been one of our best linemen the last two games. As you will recall last season my main concern going into the Superbowl was RG play. Looking up on that front.
Here are few thoughts on the Patriots. I haven't watched all of their games, but I do live in Eastern Upstate NY and do get to see them quite a bit.
1) From an outsiders perspective, there is a mysterious disconnect between the Patriots defensive talent and their defensive performance. Just because Atlanta fans have been conditioned to expect the worst since Danny White rolled right late in the division playoff game in 1980, I have this funny feeling that this will be the week the Patriots defense matches talent to performance. I suspect it is a mental thing and they will be plenty focused (oddly, I feel the same about the Falcons offense).
2) Brady is still the GOAT. Surely he won't be able to get fired up for a non-conference game in October. Right? Maybe he'll overlook us...
3) The AFC East as a whole looks better this season than it has in quite a while. There are identifiable weaknesses in all 4 squads. However, most of the teams are solid up front and that goes a long way toward good football.
I wish I knew which Falcons team was going to show up Sunday night. Will it be the the bunch that thumped GB per normal, or the one that looked disinterested for each of the next three games??
First team to 28 wins? Right??
1) Falcons D is better
2)Falcons O is far less consistent
3)The potential of the Patriots D far exceeds their level of execution so far
Here's hoping both teams walk away healthy and the that the team that comes closest to playing to its potential wins.
_____________________
Greetings. Long time no speak. After the way the season ended last year, I'm just glad the teams are playing football again. I'm sure the media will remind us about what happened all week long. However, my concerns about what it going on this year has replaced any worries about how last year ended.
As many of you will recall, there were several reasons going into the LI that I thought the Falcons had a great chance as a win. So far this year, I am finding optimism hard to come by. That said, I'll share a few reads on the Falcons with you to get the discussion started.
1) The expectations coming into the season were that the defense would be modestly improved and that the offense would regress to some degree. Through five games, that is right where we are at.
2) The criticism of Ryan's play by many is a little overblown. The offense does have 7 turnovers in the last three games, but 3 of the picks were deflections off of receivers and only 1 was a truly ugly pass. Two of the turnovers were on ASJ quality questionable calls. By that I mean they were not necessarily blown calls, they were just close enough for argument to be guaranteed.
3) The defensive improvement is probably not as strong as the raw numbers look like. Where the defense is struggling this season plays into the Patriots strength. We are giving up precious little to outside receivers, but we are being generous to the slot, TEs, and RBs in the passing game. We are starting to look a little like Quinn's Seattle days in that we give up a lot of short stuff, but can usually make the one nice play that will stop a drive.
4) Campbell is a different man than he was last season. He will not shut Gronk down, but he has a chance to keep him from beating us all by himself.
5) Our 2nd year RG has really turned the corner, but the RT looked really rusty coming off an injury and the bye last week. Wes got beat up and schooled the first two weeks. That said, by advanced metrics he has been one of our best linemen the last two games. As you will recall last season my main concern going into the Superbowl was RG play. Looking up on that front.
Here are few thoughts on the Patriots. I haven't watched all of their games, but I do live in Eastern Upstate NY and do get to see them quite a bit.
1) From an outsiders perspective, there is a mysterious disconnect between the Patriots defensive talent and their defensive performance. Just because Atlanta fans have been conditioned to expect the worst since Danny White rolled right late in the division playoff game in 1980, I have this funny feeling that this will be the week the Patriots defense matches talent to performance. I suspect it is a mental thing and they will be plenty focused (oddly, I feel the same about the Falcons offense).
2) Brady is still the GOAT. Surely he won't be able to get fired up for a non-conference game in October. Right? Maybe he'll overlook us...
3) The AFC East as a whole looks better this season than it has in quite a while. There are identifiable weaknesses in all 4 squads. However, most of the teams are solid up front and that goes a long way toward good football.
I wish I knew which Falcons team was going to show up Sunday night. Will it be the the bunch that thumped GB per normal, or the one that looked disinterested for each of the next three games??
First team to 28 wins? Right??