The Falcon teetered on the edge of becoming another blowout victim for the Saints.

After surviving a flurry, they regrouped before standing toe to toe and battling back against their rivals from the NFC South before they came up short.

The New Orleans Saints weren’t able to breathe easy until there were 3:03 minutes left to play and Pierre Thomas, running back, somersaulted into the end zone.

On Monday night in the Superdome, the Saints were able to hold on and defeat the Falcons 35-27 in front of 70,088 fans.

The 7-0 Saints are the only NFC team left that is still undefeated. With nine games left to play, the Atlanta Falcons’ record dropped to 4-2, putting them three games back of the Saints.

Atlanta was able to find their running game. Michael Turner rushed for over 150 yards and Roddy White, wide receiver, had a big game as well, accumulating over 100 receiving yards.

In the end, however, the defense for the Falcons couldn’t get Drew Brees, the dynamic quarterback, and the Saints off of the field.

During the third quarter, the defense for the Falcons stiffened, holding the Saints to only 64 yards. It was the lowest third quarter output for the Saints all season.

This gave a few opportunities to the offense to attempt to recover from a 14 point deficit. However, a call challenged on what looked like an apparent touchdown, an interception late in the game, and a Mike Peterson holding call, all hurt their chances to come back for the upset.

It appeared that the Falcons had tied the game at 28-28, with Roddy White catching a touchdown pass in the end zone. However, the play was challenged by the Saints and they won.

Atlanta settled for just a field goal.

The offense had a chance to take the lead following a fumble recovery by Atlanta safety Erik Coleman.

With 8:30 left to play in the game, Atlanta was driving down field for a score to take the lead. However Tracy Porter, defensive back for the Saints intercepted a Matt Ryan pass.

The defense needed to get another stop. However, they weren’t able to get it done. It appeared that the Falcons had stopped the Saints when a pass on third down headed for Reggie Bush went incomplete. However a defensive holding penalty was called on Peterson, giving a first down to the Saints, who went on to drive for a touchdown to seal their victory.

The game on national television lived up to all its hype early on.

On the opening drives, each team scored a touchdown.

Atlanta won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball. Turner had some power running and a twenty seven yard season high catch from Tony Gonzalez, tight end, helped the Falcons march down the field.

The 77 yard, eight play drive was capped by a 13 yard touchdown run from Turner around the right end.

New Orleans then answered with a touchdown drive of their own. Thomas, eluding attempted tackles from Coleman and John Abraham, scored a touchdown on a 23 yard run.

Atlanta was unable to capitalize on good field position following the Saints being penalized for excessive celebration. The drive for the Falcons stalled. However the punt from Michael Koenen pinned New Orleans back to their own eight yard line.

The defense of the Falcons was then able to come up with a very big play.

Thomas DeCoud, safety, hammered Brees on the delayed blitz, causing a fumble. Kroy Biermann, defensive end, scooped up the ball and scored from four yards away. The extra point from Jason Elman made the score 14-7.

The Saints on their next drive were able to overcome a second down and 17, making their fourth third down conversion in a row to position themselves for a touchdown.

From Atlanta’s 18 yard line on second down and seven, Brees connected with Marques Colston, wide receiver, in the end zone to score the touchdown. The 6 foot 4 Colston soared over Tye Hill, making his first Falcons start instead of Brent Grimes, to catch the ball.

The Falcons, with Turner on a roll, were able to march up field. However on third down Michael Jenkins dropped a pass, forcing them to go for a field goal.

A 34 yard field goal attempt by Elam hit the left upright but was no good.

During the next drive Grimes went in for Hill and got a big interception, stopping a drive that looked promising for the Saints. He seemed to almost jump from the Superdome to pick a pass off meant for Devery Henderson.

However, the offense was unable to move and ball, forcing them to punt following three and out.

The Saints then went on one of their scoring flurries, which has enabled them to score a minimum of 45 points during four of the first of their six games.

In six plays the Saints were able to drive 80 yards. Reggie Bush scored from one yard out, making the score 21-14.

The opportunistic defense of the Saints finally came to life. Jabari Greer, cornerback, stepped right in front and picked off a Ryan pass, scoring a touchdown on a 38 yard return to give New Orleans a 28-14 lead at halftime.

Popularity: 29% [?]

Mike Smith, head coach for the Falcons, hasn’t ever presided over a thrashing like this.

Atlanta, in a defensive clunker of a game, got pummeled by Dallas on Sunday 37-21 at the new stadium for the Cowboys in front of 81,521 extremely happy fans.

Atlanta’s secondary, which was reeling already from losing cornerback Brian Williams last week to a knee injury ending his season, was thoroughly shredded by Tony Romo (21 of 29 on passing for a total of 311 yards), Cowboy’s quarterback, and Miles Austin (6 catches, 171 yards, 2 touchdowns), wide receiver. The rest of Atlanta’s team wasn’t so great either.

Maybe the Falcons were in awe of the Cowboys’ gigantic scoreboard in the new stadium. Or maybe Atlanta was just taking a big step backwards. The loss dropped their record to 4-2 and they now trail undefeated New Orleans in the NFC South by two games.

The 37 points given up by Atlanta were the most points that have ever been yielded under the coaching of Smith. The high previously was 30 points when the Falcons lost to Arizona in the playoffs. Atlanta’s defense wasn’t able to rush the pocket, cover down field, or tackle consistently.

Smith said, defensively we had opportunities for stopping them short of first down on some plays but didn’t do it. Our tackling needs work. It is something we take pride in.

The secondary struggled against Austin, the former free agent (Monmouth College) undrafted player, now in his fourth year and showing the Cowboys he isn’t just a player on special teams.

Smith said, Miles Austin had one big game and against two of our corners. It isn’t just the two corners. Off the spot we need to get to the quarterback.

After their strong opening 16 play drive where they scored a touchdown, the offense for the Falcons went to sleep. The team wasn’t able to mount any sort of serious scoring threat in their following five possessions. Three of those possessions were three and outs and two of them ended in turnovers.

Atlanta’s offensive line, which over the team’s last four games had protected their quarterback Matt Ryan and hadn’t given up a sack, had a lot of problems blocking for both the running game as well as pass protection. Ryan had two interceptions and two fumbles, losing one of the fumbles.

The Cowboys kicked a field goal and then took the lead for good at 10-7 during the first half when Austin had a 59 yard rushing touchdown with 5:50 to play before halftime. Dallas didn’t trail in the game again.

Thomas DeCoud said, the stars just seemed aligned for them.

At the end of the first half, Dallas added a touchdown to permanently swing the momentum their way.

Romo eluded a tackle from Jonathan Babineaux and was able to get free. He then got away from John Abraham, defensive end, and pulled together long enough to find Patrick Crayton who was in the end zone just six seconds before halftime.

DeCoud said, today he was Houdini. He was able to make some great escapes.

To open the second half Atlanta went on a long drive. Michael Turner, running back, capped the 87 yard, 12 play drive with a 2 yard run for the touchdown, making the score 17-14. Dallas however continued to exploit Atlanta’s secondary.

Austin had another big play, including a broken tackle as he scored from 22 yards for the touchdown.

Brent Grimes, cornerback for Atlanta said, when I look back, I took a wrong angle. I did not wrap my tackle up.

Grimes wasn’t Atlanta’s only defensive back having trouble with Austin.

Grimes said he has good size, referring to the 6’3″ 214 pound wide receiver. At the tops of routes he creates separation with his size. I saw that today. A couple of plays he made over the top.

Dallas kicker Nick Folk added a field goal from 46 yards before the game was blown wide open by Crayton on a punt return of 73 yards for a touchdown with just 8:38 minutes left in the game to make the score 34-14.

Smith said, this team recovers punts very well. These are alarms that need to be addressed.

Atlanta added a touchdown on a 30 yard catch by Eric Weems. The Cowboys tacked on another field goal from Folk to compete the scoring.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Last year the Chicago had the chance to win in Atlanta. On Sunday night they could have won.

But instead they lost both games.

The Bears made three critical errors inside the red zone, and Atlanta was able to hold on and get a 21-14 win. The game will be remembered for a series of gritty defensive stands and all the opportunities that the Bears missed.

At Atlanta’s 9 yard line, Jay Cutler got intercepted. On two runs in a row from the one yard line, Matt Forte fumbled. On the second fumble Atlanta recovered the football. On the Bear’s last opportunity, with less than one minute left in the game on fourth down and one at the five yard line, Orlando Pace moved ahead of the snap and the Bears didn’t convert.

Lovie Smith, Chicago’s coach said, we had lots of chances to win the game. You just can’t make those mistakes. When you’ve got the ball into the red zone, you have to get points.

The winning touchdown was scored by Michael Turner on a five yard run with three minutes left in the game. But what really gave the 4-1 Falcons the win and their best first five games in franchise history was their defense that bent but didn’t break and all of the errors from Chicago.

Matt Ryan, Atlanta’s quarterback said, our defense deserves some credit. Ryan threw two passes for touchdowns but had two interceptions as well. The guys really stepped up and were able to make the plays when we really needed it.

It was the second straight year the Falcons and Bears played in a thriller. Last year it appeared that Chicago (3-2) had pull an improbable win out on a touchdown with just 11 seconds to go in the game. However they blew the game when they went for a pooch kick and then gave up a long pass which set Jason Elam up on the last play of the game to kick the winning field goal.

In this game Chicago didn’t get a chance for a comeback. Cutler lead the Bears down field with his 300 yard, season high passing night. A questionable pass interference penalty against Curtis Lofton gave Chicago the first down and the ball at Atlanta’s 14 yard line. Then two Bear penalties made it third down and twenty five. Cutler connected with Earl Bennet with a pass up the middle for a gain of 24 yards.

On fourth down the Bears needed only 3 feet. To set up the play they called a time out. However, Pace took off before the snap, which left Chicago with a fourth down and six. The last pass from Cutler, over the middle to Desmond Clark, bounced off Clark’s arm as he was being defended by Erik Coleman, preserving the Falcon’s lead with just 29 seconds left to play.

Coleman said, I broke and stumbled a bit. Cutler’s pass was a bit high. Then we got off the field. With games like this you just need to stay positive and have trust in your teammates.

It appeared that Greg Olsen was open in the end zone, however Cutler didn’t spot him.

The winning touchdown for Atlanta was set up with a kickoff return of 62 yards by Eric Weems. From there Tony Gonzalez and Ryan took over, connecting on two big pass plays. Turner then finished the drive off from the five yard line. He cut to his right and then lightly bumped into his teammate Verron Haynes before scoring.

Turner, who last season was the NFL’s second leading rusher, completed the game with only 30 yards in 13 carries. After scoring, to help shake the frustration off, he flung the football up into the air.

Ryan said, the offensive line gave me enough time for getting the ball away. Then Michael Turner did his thing. Our offensive line gave a great push, then Turner paved his own way.

The Bears let too many opportunities slip away. They only scored once out of four possessions when they were inside Atlanta’s 20 yard line. On a bad pass up the middle Cutler was intercepted early by Thomas DeCoud. During the third quarter, with the Bears inside the one yard line with first and goal, Forte blew it.

He tried leaping over the pile but fumbled. Fortunately he was able to recover the ball. Forte, on the next play, went left and encountered Jonathan Babinexu who led with his helmet and sent the football flying once again. Only this time the ball was recovered by Coy Wire, a Falcon, denying the Bears the opportunity to tie the game.

Chicago lost the game despite out gaining Atlanta in total yards 373-253. Cutler went 27 for 43. He connected on a touchdown pass of 23 yards with Johnny Knox to give the Bears a 7-0 lead as well as a two yard pass to Olsen to tie the score with six minutes left. Cutler was also Chicago’s leading rusher with 34 yards. However his two interceptions, which were both picked by DeCoud and were his first two career interceptions, marred Cutler’s performance.

Ryan also threw two touch down passes. One was a short pass over to Roddy White who made it into a touchdown play of 40 yards. The other was a 10 yard touchdown pass to Gonzales, giving Atlanta a halftime lead of 14-7. Ryan also had two interceptions. The second one with ten minutes left in the game was a tipped ball which gave the Bears another chance.

Cutler led Chicago on a 92 yard eight play drive to tie the game. He started things off with a quarterback scramble of 30 yards. He then connected for a 17 yard completion to Devin Hester. Chris Houston then incurred a 23 yard pass interference penalty.

For the fifth time in the 44 year history of the franchise, Atlanta is 4-1. 2004 was the last time it happened when they won an NFC South title under the leadership of Michael Vick. Right now the Falcons are trying to keep up with the red hot 5-0 New Orleans Saints, who still lead the division after beating the formerly undefeated New York Giants 48-27.

Both Chicago and Atlanta go hard hit with injuries. Atlanta lost Jerious Norwood, running back, with a hip flexor and Brian Williams, cornerback, with a right knee injury. Chicago lost Pisa Tinoisamoa, linebacker, with a knee injury. On special teams, Weems had a great night. He average 39 yards on the three kickoff returns. He also returned a punt for twenty yards. DeCoud, had just one interception in 45 games played at Cal. With his two interceptions against Chicago, the second year player has already surpassed his collegiate interceptions in the NFL.

Popularity: 33% [?]

The leader of the San Francisco 49ers knows he lost all his cool during the game.

Mike Singletary got so frustrated with the poor play of his team that he just had to respond to Harvey Dahl, former 49er and offensive lineman, when he responded to Singletary near the sideline of the 49ers while Atlanta was once again driving downfield.

Roddy White had a catch-and-run 90 yard touchdown as well as a 31 yard touchdown catch, Michael Turner had three running scores, and the Atlanta Falcons pummeled the 49ers by a score of 45-10 on Sunday, ending the 49er’s home game winning streak at five games.

Singletary say, I wish I had some more coaching etiquette, but I just don’t. I really love my players. When somebody responds in a certain way against my players, I might end up doing things I shouldn’t. I need to get better at those types of things over time.

Even though he was talking at me, I shouldn’t have said it. It wasn’t anything that bad, but it shouldn’t have happened.

Dahl, referring to the third quarter confrontation said, he is a fiery guy.

Roddy White had a career high eight catches and set the franchise record with 201 yards versus the normally stingy 49ers defense. Six of his catchers came in the game’s first half for a total of 185 yards, as the Falcons (3-1) returned from their bye week very sharp. They ended up with an advantage of 477-279 for total yards. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan went 22 of 32 for a total of 329 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a late score rushing touchdown.

San Francisco (3-2) failed their biggest test so far and suffered their worst defeat since October 1, 2006 when they lost to Kansas City 41-0 under Mike Nolan, former 49ers head coach. Singletary said that the players were not prepared.

Manny Lawson, linebackers, said we lost our cool.

On a gray afternoon in October Candlestick Park got quiet very quickly. At halftime the 49ers were booed as they left the field trailing 35-10. During the fourth quarter fans were leaving in droves.

San Fransisco was unable to respond, despite Singletary calling a timeout mid first quarter where he attempted to pull his team together with a high spirited pep talk. On the next play, White scored a touchdown. White’s big day helped the the Falcons win their first road game of the 2009 season.

On White’s 90 yard touchdown, he somersaulted in the end zone. His flip earned him a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Mike Smith, Falcons coach, joked that he missed the landing. If he hit the landing it wouldn’t have been a 15 yard penalty. I told White if he was going to do that he needs to be like Olga Korbut. He didn’t know who Olga Korbut was. So I said, ok maybe like Mary Lou Retton. I figured that was ’86. He didn’t know Mary Lou Retton either. Went right over our heads.

White broke the former franchise record of 198 receiving yards set on December 13, 1998 by Terance Mathis versus New Orleans.

White said he felt like he hadn’t been playing well this season. Coach Smith and me had a talk. He say you need to get back to just being yourself. Go out and be old Roddy. Just go out and play. No pressure.

The three turnovers by San Francisco was one more than they had combined during their first four games. After While got his second touchdown of the first half, a fumble by Delanie Walker on the ensuing kickoff was recovered by the Falcons. It appeared as though the fumble may have been caused by the ground, but the 49ers didn’t have any timeouts lets and weren’t able to challenge the call.

Even when it appeared that things were going right, they wound up being wrong for the 49ers.

Dre Bly picked off a Ryan pass at San Francisco’s 10 yard line mid third quarter. However he got caught from behind as it looked like Bly had begun to celebrate during the return. Ryan swiped for the loose ball before center Todd McClure was able to fall on it to recover the ball for the Falcons.

Bly said, Dre will be Dre. When I make plays, which I have a lot, I do express myself.

Niners quarterback Shaun Hill struggled along with San Francisco’s entire offense. Hill’s perfect home starting record of 7-0 evaporated. San Francisco obviously missed Frank Gore, their star running back, who will be out until after the team’s bye due to a sprained ankle injury.

Hill was only able to complete 4 of the first 15 passes he threw and ended up 15 for 38 for a total of 198 yards along with three sacks.

Michael Lewis, strong safety, suffered his third concussion this season. Early third quarter he went down after he led with his helmet while attempting to tackle Turner. Lewis also had two concussions during the preseason.

Notes
Adam Snyder, right tackle for the 49ers sustained a bruised left thigh. Ray McDonald, defensive tackle has a sprained left ankle. Tarrell Brown, cornerback, has a strained right groin and Coffee a bruised left leg. The Atlanta Falcons have won all three of their last meetings against the 49ers.

Popularity: 34% [?]

On Sunday the New England Patriots were finally able to get rolling, serving up a balanced attack with Fred Taylor rushing for 105 yards and Tom Brady throwing for 277 yards in the Patriots 26-10 victory over the Falcons.

A week after not being able to score a touchdown against the New York Jets in their 16-9 defeat, Taylor had a 8 yard rushing score and Brady a 36 yard pass to Chris Baker for another touchdown.

On a rainy day, Brady didn’t need to stage a comeback like he did in the Patriots’ opening game when he threw two touchdown passes during the final 2:06 minutes of the game to lead New England over Buffalo 25-24.

However the 2-1 Patriots still had lots of problems in the red zone, settling for four Stephen Gostkowski field goals. Inside Atlanta’s 20, Brady was only able to complete 3 of 19 passes. However Gostkowski was able to connect on field goals from 21, 22, and 33 yards (twice).

Gostkowski’s final field goal came on the fourth quarter’s first play to make the score 19-10. Midway through the fourth period Brady connected with Baker in the end zone.

New England’s defense prevented Atlanta’s Tony Gonzalez from getting a catch until finally the tight end caught one during the opening minute of the final quarter.

The Falcons (2-1) were able to score on two of their first three possessions. Jason Elam had a field goal of 26 yards and Turner, who last year had a 106 rushing yards average and 85 yards in the first two games this year, scored on a 2 yard rushing touchdown.

The Patriots were also able to control Matt Ryan, the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year last season. In the first two games of the season Ryan had five touchdowns and a completed pass percentage of 68 percent. On Sunday, in his return to the New England area after starring at Boston College, he was 17 for 28 for a total of 199 yards and no interceptions or touchdowns.

Tom Brady went 25 for 42 for a total of 277 yards and didn’t have any interceptions. He did not face nearly as much pressure as he did in the first two games of the season.

After Atlanta’s Michael Koenen shanked a 29 yard punt putting the Patriots on their 49 yard line, the Patriots capitalized and took the led at 10-3. The drive was capped by Taylor’s 8 yard touchdown run. Taylor rushed for 41 yards on the final four plays of the drive.

On their next series, the Falcons were able to tie the score at 10-10 on a 2 yard touchdown run from Turner mid second quarter. The Falcons were able to keep the ball after a ruling on the field nullified a Patriots fumble recovery and touchdown score. The replays clearly showed that Ryan’s arm was definitely going forward. The play was overturned and ruled as an incomplete pass.

However, on Atlanta’s next possession they did lose a fumble. Following a 4 yard rush by Turner, New England’s James Sanders picked the loose ball up, giving the Patriot’s the football at Atlanta’s 27 yard line. However, Brady threw three incompletions in a row. Gostkowski kicked a field goal from 33 yards out with just 20 seconds remaining until halftime.

Popularity: 33% [?]

Matt Ryan had three touchdown passes while Michael Turner rushed for 105 yards and scored one touchdown in the Atlanta Falcons’ second win of the season in their 28-20 win at the Georgia Dome against Carolina, their NFC South rival.

Last week during the season opener Ryan threw two touchdowns. In this Sunday’s game he was 21 for 27 on 220 yards and one interception.

Mike Smith, Atlanta’s head coach, said it was a typical NFC type game between a couple of physical football teams. Coming in we knew that. In the second half we were able to do what we wanted to on offense. Ryan threw well and distributed the ball very well.

Last week in his debut for Atlanta Tony Gonzalez caught a touchdown pass. This Sunday he had seven catches for 71 yards along with another score for Atlanta (2-0). This is the first time the Falcons (2-0) have won the first two games of the season since 2006. The team is trying to have winning seasons two times in a row for the first time in the franchise’s history.

Referring to Gonzales, Ryan said he’s one of the all time great tight ends. Picking him up was big for us. He produces big plays when we really need them. Ryan added that so far he had really enjoyed playing with Gonzalez.

Jake Delhomme, Carolina’s quarterback, only had one interception on Sunday, after he threw four interceptions the week before and was benched in the team’s loss to the Eagles. However the interception occurred late in the fourth quarter when the Panthers were attempting to tie the game. He finished the game 25 for 41 for a total of 308 yards and one touchdown. This is the first time the Panthers (0-2) have lost their first two games of the season since 2006.

Delhomme said nothing could be worse than it was last week. He added it had felt good to be out there. Last week I had pressured myself too much. This week I just went back to being plain Jake.

The Panthers were trailing in the game 28-13 before Delhomme was able to connect on a 11 yard touchdown pass with Dante Rosario with just 6:45 minutes to play in the game. The Carolina defense was able to force three plays and out. Delhomme then moved the Carolina offense into Atlanta territory once again.

At midfield on 3rd down and -3 Delhomme hit Steve Smith with a 23 yard pass, which gave Carolina a first down on Atlanta’s 27 yard line with only 3 1/2 minutes left to play in the game. Jonathan Stewart fumbled but was able to recover the ball, putting Carolina at the 17 with a first down.

Delhomme threw three incomplete passes in a row then attempted to connect with Smith on the left sideline. However Atlanta’s Chris Houston stepped right in front of Smith and picked the ball off near the five yard line with just 2:37 minutes to play.

Carolina had one more opportunity, getting the ball back with just 30 seconds left to play. Delhomme was able to complete four passes before throwing a desperation pass into the end zone as the time ran out on the clock.

John Fox, head coach for the Panthers, said that in this league there isn’t any consolation prize. We didn’t make a lot of strides from last week. There aren’t any cupcakes in the league. We have a lot of work ahead of us.

Smith had eight catches for 131 yards in the loss, appearing to injure his ankle. At the end of the first half he was injured on a Hail Mary pass, but did return to the game. In the fourth quarter he limped off the field but was able to complete the game.

DeAngelo Williams rushed for 79 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown for the Panthers, who out gained the Falcons 440-371.

The Panthers took a 3-0 lead on the game’s first series on a 38 yard field goal from John Kasay.

Several series later, Ryan brought the Falcons back, connecting on a 24 yard pass with Jenkins. Following an offside penalty, Ryan hit Gonzalez with a 24 yard touchdown pass to make the score 7-3 with only 37 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Carolina answered the score with an 80 yard drive to re-take the lead early in the second quarter. Smith caught a 28 yard pass, putting Carolina into Atlanta territory. Stewart then rushed for 28 yards before Williams scored on a three yard stiff arm.

Atlanta answered with an 80 yard drive of their own. Ryan was able to convert on three third downs on the 14 play drive, which included a 27 yard pass to Marty Booker and a nine yard one to Gonzalez. The pass to Gonzalez was initially ruled incomplete but the replay overturned it. Ryan then connected on a 10 yard pass to Jason Snelling, giving Atlanta a 14-10 advantage.

With only 1:49 remaining in the first half, Kasay connected on a 50 yard field goal, leaving Carolina only one point behind. However, Atlanta’s Eric Weems returned a kickoff for 41 yards and Ryan hit Roddy White to bring the score to 21-13 with 50 seconds left in the half.

On the second half kickoff Atlanta drove from their 20 down to the Panther’s 13 yard line before Turner fumbled the ball. However Carolina gave the ball right back just a couple minutes later when Mike Peterson hit Williams who fumbled the ball near midfield.

The Falcons then went 47 yards, scoring another touchdown. Ryan went on a quarterback sneak on 4th down and -1 at Carolina’s 21 setting up a first down. On a third down incomplete pass to the end zone, a pass interference gave the Falcons a second life. Soon after Turner scored from the one yard line, bringing the score to 28-13 with just 12:23 minutes left in the game.

Delhomme then led the Panthers on an 80 yard drive that culminated with a touchdown pass to Rosario which brought Carolina within 8 points.

Game Notes

Peterson had nine tackles, after intercepting a pass in his debut with the Falcons last week. Smith recored his sixth 100 yard receiving game in a row against an NFC South team. Na’il Diggs, Carolina linebacker, left the game with an injured rib in the first half. Jerious Norwood of the Falcons appeared to injure his head and Peria Jerry, defensive lineman for Atlanta, was carted from the field during the fourth quarter. Atlanta will play a road game next Sunday for the first time this season in New England, while Carolina will play next Monday in Dallas.

Popularity: 33% [?]

Welcome to Atlanta, Mike Peterson and Tony Gonzalez.

On Sunday Gonzalez and Peterson lead the Falcons to a 19-7 win over the error prone Miami Dolphins. Gonzalez caught a touchdown pass, becoming the 21st player in the history of the NFL to gain 11,000 receiving yards, and Peterson was able to force a fumble on a big hit and intercepted a pass.

The matchup between 2008′s two surprise teams didn’t end up being much of a game. Atlanta’s defense, which is very suspect after letting go of five of their starters and looking quite shaky during this year’s preseason, were able to recover four turnovers and shut a team completely down that last year won the AFC East after having a 1-15 record just two years earlier.

Matt Ryan, Falcons quarterback, threw two touchdown passes for Atlanta, a team who was able to make it into the playoffs after quickly rebuilding following the Michael Vick fiasco. This season they’re getting off to a great start and will try to have back to back winning seasons. It would be the first time the team had accomplished that in their 44 year history.

Peterson, the only notable defensive player that Atlanta was able to sign this off season, paid off immediately. During the latter part of the second quarter, Peterson flung his body into Anthony Fasano, tight end, and was able to knock the ball away from him after his catch. Brian Williams, another new Falcons player, scooped the ball up and ran for 53 yards setting up a 36 yard field goal from Jason Elam which gave Atlanta a 10-0 lead at halftime.

Peterson was also able to intercept a pass that was intended for Fasano and returned the ball 39 yards, setting up the decisive touchdown for Atlanta. Gonzalez, the star player who was acquired to give Ryan another target, got the touchdown.

Gonzalez caught five passes and led the team with 73 yards, which included a touchdown for 20 yards after Peterson’s interception. The star tight end caught the ball in the flats, cutting to the inside while he shoved Yeremiah Bell away and then glided into the end zone after getting a good block from teammate Roddy White to become part of the 11,000 yard club.

Miami activated Pat White, rookie quarterback, and utilized him in their new wildcat version but without a lot of success. On his first attempt to run he was stopped without a gain, overthrowing Ted Ginn Jr. on a long pass after the wide receiver had his two defenders beaten. Ryan did face some pretty heavy pressure but was able to complete 22 of 36 passes with 229 yards and a one yard touchdown pass to Ovie Mughelli in the second quarter giving the Falcons a lead of 7-0.

Chad Pennington was finally able to lead the Dolphins to a score with 3.21 left in the game. He threw a touchdown pass of 9 yards to Ricky Williams after a pass to score Fasano was nullified by a penalty for holding. Pennington was able to complete 21 of 29 passes, but only managed 176 yards. Running back Ronnie Brown had only 43 yards rushing and Williams had just 39.

Miami’s last shutout was on November 26, 2007 and they were able to avoid having another one, but didn’t do much to bolster any faith in their offense that committed five turnovers in their loss last year to Baltimore in the playoffs. One thing that thing didn’t go well for Atlanta was their kicking game. Jason Elam,who is one of the most reliable kickers in the NFL, missed one extra point and two field goals on a day which was probably the worst of his entire 17 year career.

Popularity: 29% [?]

The Atlanta Falcons ended their 2009 preseason with a 2-2 record, following their 20-3 loss against the Baltimore Ravens at the Georgia Dome on Thursday night.

As was to be expected, many of the Falcons starting team players only played briefly in the game before the second and third team replacements came in.

Matt Ryan, quarterback for the Falcons, played the first series of the game and went 1 for 1 and 13 yards. Michael Turner, running back, had two rushes for 12 yards.

John Parker Wilson, the free agent rookie quarterback, who before the game seemed to be in a battle with D.J. Shockley for the third string quarterback position, had a solid performance and finished 13 for 19 for a total of 80 yards and a 76.6% passer rating. At first Wilson seemed a bit shaky but was able to settle in in the third quarter. Wilson admitted he had been nervous early in the game but was able to focus.

Wilson said he thought he realized that he was kind of hyped up.

Keith Zinger, tight end, was a favorite target of Wilson’s. Zinger is another player who is fighting to keep a spot on the Falcons roster.

Zinger had two catches for 19 yards along with an impressive tackle while on special teams during the fourth quarter.

Mike Smith, Atlanta’s head coach, said he was happy with how the players played, many of whom are battling for jobs. He said that every single snap taken by each player would be taken into consideration during final evaluations, not just from Thursday’s play when a lot of the fringe players were out on the field for extended minutes.

Smith said after the game they would evaluate the entire body of work that they had done from mini camp, the OTAs and all of the team’s four preseason games when the roster was put together.

Smith said all along that the game on Thursday was for evaluating the players and not about the final score. He and his coaching staff were looking to see how players handled themselves in certain specific situations.

Smith said that during these games you call things offensively and defensively that placed players in specific types of situations in order to evaluate them.

The Falcons defense allowed the Ravens 276 yards, 204 passing and 72 rushing. Smith felt the pass defense, which last week had been a sour point, had improved but that it had a way to go. He was particularly pleased with the defense against the run.

Smith said he saw some good things. He added that he thought they had played the run extremely well for the most part. We showed improved with our efficiency on third down, even though it isn’t where we want it to be. But we showed improvement from last week and we pressured their quarterback.

The Falcons had four sacks for the night, one each from three different defensive ends: Maurice Lucas, Jamaal Anderson and Kroy Biermann along with one from Peira Jerry, defensive tackle.

Beirmann and Jerry in particular were standouts. Jerry, the first round draft pick for the Falcons in ’09, had four tackles, finishing second for the team. He also had a quarterback hurry and a tackle for a loss.

Smith said that Peira has continued to get better and better. He has improved his play from game to game. We could expect this would happen the more comfortable he gets with our scheme.

Jerry said that being more comfortable with the scheme had slowed the game down for him. He added that he wasn’t thinking as much or worrying over making mistakes. It is all coming to me.

The play where Jerry sacked John Beck, Ravens’ quarterback, he credited the whole defensive line. He felt the sack helped to teach him lessons about how he needs to man his NFL position.

Jerry said he knows he can get to the quarterback. It was just a matter of staying in my lane. The defensive line men are there to push the quarterback from the pocket. All I have to do is win my one on ones.

Biermann had six tackles, leading the team, along with one sack. He also had one quarterback hurry and two tackles for loss. Smith stated that they needed Biermann to help out with Atlanta’s pass rush. He added that the pass rush was an integral part of any success they would experience for the season.

One thing very noticeable about the way Biermann has played during the preseason has been the sense of urgency and his ability to play at one speed. Biermann said he couldn’t really explain it other than that is how he has always played.

The sophomore defensive end said he liked to get out and go after people.

The next step for the Falcons and Smith are the looming September 5 roster cuts. The Falcons at that time will trim their roster down from 73 to a final roster of 53. Smith said given all the extra time that he has spent with a lot of the players compared to last year which was his rookie year, will make these final decisions tough.

Smith said he had spent an entire off season, regular season and then another off season with the players. We are more familiar with the guys which makes the decisions more stressful.

The Falcons will begin their preparations for their 2009 opening game, which will take place next Sunday at home versus the Miami Dolphins. Many problems have been addressed during the preseason, in particular the rush defensive. However there are other problems that still remain, in particular third down passing defense. While preseason games might be free, that has all changed now. From now on it all counts.

Smith said there was a long way to go in terms of the team preparing for Miami. He added that he thought probably all 32 teams were thinking the same thing because the games now were for real.

Game Notes

D.J. Shockley, quarterback, finished the game 2 for 6 with 15 yards. Jason Snelling, running back, had 8 rushes for 21 yards. Thomas Brown had 39 yards on 11 rushes, leading the team. Troy Bergeron had 3 catches for 23 yards. Chris Redman, quaterback, and Tye Hill, the Falcons newly acquired cornerback, didn’t play in the game. William Moore, safety, Jerious Norwood, running back, John Abraham, defensive end, and Todd McClure, center, were all inactive.

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The five yard touchdown pass thrown by Chris Redman to Eric Weems with just nine seconds remaining in the game lifted the Atlanta Falcons over the San Diego Chargers giving them a 27-24 win in the preseason match up. A 37 yard field goal from Nate Kaeding gave the Chargers a 24-20 lead with 2:07 left in the game. Redman led the Falcons on a march down field where they wound up on the seven yard line and first and goal. After he failed to convert on three downs, Redman culminated the 11 play 75 yard drive with a bullet to Weems who was deep in the end zone.

Matt Ryan went 14 for 20 on 140 yards with a touchdown, playing into the third quarter for Atlanta. Redman was 15 for 19 with a 10 yard touchdown run and 134 yards. Michael Turner had 12 carries and 47 yards. Marty Booker had six catches for 62 total yards.

Phillip Rivers went 10 for 15 with a touchdown on 185 yards and played into the second quarter for San Diego. Billy Volek went 7 for 9 and had a score and 102 yards. Gartrell Johnson had 12 carries and rushed for 59 yards. Michael Bennett had three catches for a touchdown and 84 yards.

The Chargers got off to an early lead with Darren Sproles capping an eight play drive with his 10 yard run for a touchdown with 9:37 remaining in the first quarter. Atlanta tied the game with Ryan’s 12 yard touchdown pass to Brain Finneran late in the first quarter.

Rivers 48 yard touchdown pass to Bennett early in the second quarter brought the score to 14-7. After a 40 yard field goal from Jason Elam closed the gap, Volek connected with Malcom Floyd on a 10 yard touchdown pass that gave San Diego the lead at 21-10. A 39 yard field goal from Elam brought the half time score to 21-13.

The third quarter was scoreless. Redman in the early part of the fourth quarter started a comeback with his 10 yard touchdown run, which cut the scoring margin to one point.

Game Notes
The Chargers hold a 4-2 edge over the Falcons in their all time series in the preseason, which includes a 28-14 road win during their last meet which was just before the 2000 season. The two teams met during the 2008 regular season which was a 22-16 win for the Falcons on the road on November 30th.

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Its that time of year when the NFL teams take the field to prove that their second team is better than your second team. Its exciting stuff let me tell you, but if nothing else it gives the fans a chance to get a glimpse at the potential stars of the future. In Saturday’s preseason opener where the Falcons took on the Detroit Lions at Ford Field, we got plenty of flashes of the future.

Matt Ryan and Michael Turner started the game with the first team, hanging on for two drives in the first quarter. Ryan came out 5-for-7 with 33-yards to his credit as Turner broke free on a 40-yard scamper for a touchdown. Free agent acquisitions Tony Gonzalez and Mike Peterson showed up to play as well. Gonzalez converted a Ryan pass on third down as Peterson racked up three tackles in the first quarter.

Former Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford took over for Daunte Culpepper in the second quarter and showed why he was the number one pick in the draft. Stafford didn?t post gaudy numbers going 7-for-14 with 114 yards, but the number of drops by Lions receivers, most notably Keary Colbert, took the sizzle out of an otherwise stellar performance. Calvin Johnson was sidelined by a sprained thumb and will be a welcomed addition by Stafford once he is healthy. Lions’ RB Kevin Smith was also showing continued flashes of brilliance to follow up on his great 08 campaign.

Atlanta’s backup quarterbacks didn’t offer up much to write about. Redman seemed to make a habit of going three and out, and DJ Shockley seemed as erratic and inconsistent as ever. The one positive seemed to be new pickup out of Alabama John Parker Wilson. His passes were on the money more than they weren?t, and he seemed to step up at key points in the drive. It will be interesting to see who is the odd man out when it comes time to make final cuts.

The one name that kept echoing through the broadcast was rookie CB Christopher Owens. Where ever the play was developing on the field, he was in the middle of the action. I guess he’s trying to prove that coming out of a small school (San Diego State) doesn’t mean his play is small. Also consistently on the highlight reel was third string running back Thomas Brown. He put the team on notice that there is more than just Turner and Norwood that could carry the ball.

The score showed a Falcons loss at the end of the day 27-26 due to a 47-yard field goal by Jason Hanson as time expired, but there is a lot for the Falcons to take away from the effort. Lots of guys are fighting tooth-and-nail to make the squad and have three more games to prove their worth. Next up is the St Louis Rams on 8/21 at Edward Jones Dome. Trying to stuff Steven Jackson behind the line will be a great test of the Falcons run defense.

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