In a game that probably was overlooked by many players on the Atlanta Falcons (7-5) roster, wasn't overlooked by the Houston Texans (9-3). Falcons tried wasting little time by going deep on the first two drives of the game. All for not. All the first two drives showed to me was the lack of hustle that would eventually determine the outcome of the game. QB Matt Ryan threw deep to both wide outs Roddy White and Julio Jones, and eventually both deep throws were picked off. But as I looked at both plays again, it wasn't the throw of Ryan, he placed the ball where both needed to be, but in White's case, he didn't fight for the ball. His play on last Sunday reminded me of his rookie campaign back in 2005, very nonchalant. On the INT that was thrown to him, he allowed the defender to get in front of him, and just catch the ball with ease. Then the next INT was due to a true rookie, and his rookie mistake. Looked like WR Jones was suppose to go on a deep route, then curl back, the problem, he didn't curl back, therefore, causing the defender to cheat in, an was there for the pick. Both INT's were not the result of the QB play, Ryan placed the throws where they needed. to be.
The most frustrating part of the game to me was late in the fourth quarter. We had just scored to tie the game at 10. We then stopped the Texans and regained control of the ball and momentum. Regaining control of the ball came in the result in reserve linebacker Mike Peterson intercepting rookie Texans QB T.J. Yates and running it in for a score, 17-10 dirty birds. But wait, yellow caution on the field. Atlanta CB Dunta Robinson was called for holding no where near where the play was suppose to be. TD taken away, first down Houston, which later in the same drive resulted in a Texan TD and a win, 17-10 in favor of Houston. I have many points about this particular play. But I will stick to one. Robinson is a hard hitter, no doubt, but he cannot tackle. To me, he doesn't fit with this defense. Too much of a diva. Yes, criticism always comes to teams way too much when they lose, even good teams. That is the only way to improve and get better for the next game. I saw later that Robinson was quoted in a tweet that this was a game they should have dominated. No, not the case, first of all, Houston is a good team this year, and any team can win on any given Sunday. So Robinson needs to be critical of his play, because it really was his key penalty that cost the birds the game. Tight End Tony Gonzalez was quoted as saying, "We took a step back." This always seems to happen because you have to correct the mistakes and move forward to the next game.
QB Matt Ryan had 26 drop passes from his receivers, which tells me there was a lack of concentration on the receivers. Ryan still threw for 267 yards and one TD, but the two picks hurt, again, not his fault. The Falcons are still in good contention for a wild card birth. They currently hold the sixth spot. The bad news is, if the playoffs were to begin today, the Falcons would be traveling to Lambeau Field to face the undefeated and Super Bowl champs, Green Bay Packers. But the WC is what the Falcons need to be shooting for. They are two games behind NFC South leading New Orleans Saints (9-3) with four games remaining in the regular season. One of those games is a Monday Night affair against the Saints at their home, which is always a tough contest to win. Saints have already beaten the Falcons in the Ga Dome in the overtime thriller 26-23. Three of the remaining games are division games. This Sunday against the Panthers (4-8) in Charlotte, the following Thursday against the Jaguars (3-9) at home, the Monday night war against the Saints, then closing out the regular schedule at home against the Buccaneers (4-8). I would be thrilled if we could win all four, but three of four would be awesome.
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| WR Roddy White (84) not protecting ball from INT: Photo AP/Dave Einsel |
The most frustrating part of the game to me was late in the fourth quarter. We had just scored to tie the game at 10. We then stopped the Texans and regained control of the ball and momentum. Regaining control of the ball came in the result in reserve linebacker Mike Peterson intercepting rookie Texans QB T.J. Yates and running it in for a score, 17-10 dirty birds. But wait, yellow caution on the field. Atlanta CB Dunta Robinson was called for holding no where near where the play was suppose to be. TD taken away, first down Houston, which later in the same drive resulted in a Texan TD and a win, 17-10 in favor of Houston. I have many points about this particular play. But I will stick to one. Robinson is a hard hitter, no doubt, but he cannot tackle. To me, he doesn't fit with this defense. Too much of a diva. Yes, criticism always comes to teams way too much when they lose, even good teams. That is the only way to improve and get better for the next game. I saw later that Robinson was quoted in a tweet that this was a game they should have dominated. No, not the case, first of all, Houston is a good team this year, and any team can win on any given Sunday. So Robinson needs to be critical of his play, because it really was his key penalty that cost the birds the game. Tight End Tony Gonzalez was quoted as saying, "We took a step back." This always seems to happen because you have to correct the mistakes and move forward to the next game.
QB Matt Ryan had 26 drop passes from his receivers, which tells me there was a lack of concentration on the receivers. Ryan still threw for 267 yards and one TD, but the two picks hurt, again, not his fault. The Falcons are still in good contention for a wild card birth. They currently hold the sixth spot. The bad news is, if the playoffs were to begin today, the Falcons would be traveling to Lambeau Field to face the undefeated and Super Bowl champs, Green Bay Packers. But the WC is what the Falcons need to be shooting for. They are two games behind NFC South leading New Orleans Saints (9-3) with four games remaining in the regular season. One of those games is a Monday Night affair against the Saints at their home, which is always a tough contest to win. Saints have already beaten the Falcons in the Ga Dome in the overtime thriller 26-23. Three of the remaining games are division games. This Sunday against the Panthers (4-8) in Charlotte, the following Thursday against the Jaguars (3-9) at home, the Monday night war against the Saints, then closing out the regular schedule at home against the Buccaneers (4-8). I would be thrilled if we could win all four, but three of four would be awesome.
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