Drew Brees had a solid performance; however, Matt Ryan posted
a great and franchise record performance. The New Orleans Saints started strong;
however, Atlanta finished with a resilient second half and a huge overtime win.
Finally for Falcons fans, a team who many national media experts and members of
their rivals called "soft" looked like the more physical team in the
end. Entering the 2014 NFL season, the Falcons two biggest concerns was the
play of their offensive and defensive lines and although the defense have some
work to do, their offensive line showed major signs of improvement. Despite
losing first round draft pick Jake Matthews to an injury in the first half,
their offensive line stepped up on protecting the franchise quarterback and
only allowed one sack. Lamar Holmes, who had two rough outings against the
so-called “tenacious” Saints defensive line, held up throughout the contest and
didn’t surrender a sack against defensive end Cameron Jordan. That’s one
statistic that will go a long way after a horrific 2013 season, in which the
Falcons surrendered 44 sacks, which was 16 more than the 2012 campaign, and
allowed Ryan to suffer more than 200 hits. Thanks to their excellent protection,
Matt Ryan destroyed New Orleans secondary throughout the contest. Besides
spreading the ball to 9 different receivers, Ryan tossed 3 touchdowns on top of
throwing for a franchise record 448 yards. Steven Jackson was available but his
time at running the ball 20 plus times is over. The Falcons rushed for over 100
yards by committee. A committee that included Jacquizz Rodgers 17 yard scamper
late in the 4th quarter that propelled Atlanta's comeback. Julio
Jones managed over 116 yards on 7 catches even after his fumble early on a
promising drive. Devin Hester was also a spark and not in special teams. He was
special on offense catching 5 passes for 99 yards. The speedster Hester almost
looked as an outlet for Ryan, a role missed by the departure of future Hall of
Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez. Atlanta put up 568 yards on a Rob Ryan led
defense that was (4th) overall and (2nd) in pass defense allowing
only (194.1) yards per game in 2013.
Despite the Falcons defense getting just one sack on Drew
Brees on Sunday; they won the turnover battle by forcing two costly turnovers
by New Orleans. With under 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, slot corner back Robert
McClain, who had a forgettable first half redeemed himself with a huge
interception which was game changing, and sparked an Anton Smith 54 yard touchdown
reception that gave the Falcons their first lead of the game and gave life to
sold out Georgia Dome. The turnover that blew the roof off the Georgia Dome was
safety William Moore's forced fumble that was recovered by linebacker Joplo
Bartu on Saints receiver Marques Colston in overtime that eventually led to an
Atlanta victory. The Falcons did give up over 100 yards rushing, which is
amazing for a team who was the 2nd worst rushing defense in 2013;
however, Atlanta was tacked with 10 penalties that turned into 96 free yards. Winning
the turnover battle was the difference and there was even a Kroy Bierman
sighting and it was on the field and not just on reality TV.
Matt Bryant is one of the top prolific kickers in the
National Football League and he booted a 52-yard game winner in overtime to
begin a thrilling 2014 start for Atlanta. Bryant who was (3/3) on field goals
for the game also hit a 51 yarder to send the game into overtime at 34-34. Matt
Bryant looked like the real " Matty Ice" kicking long field goals in
front of a playoff atmosphere of 70,000 with ease. It's just your season and
home opener versus not just any team but your divisional rival and tenured foe.
Atlanta fans should be happy and rejoice at least tonight and in the cubicles this
week. Some burning questions were answered while this was a great win to start
the season after the disaster of a (4-12) season a year ago. Maybe to most
surprise a well-coached contest by head coach Mike Smith and the coaching staff.
Heading into next week, the Falcons need to control the penalties and cut down
472 yards the defense gave up before you head to Cincinnati next week; however,
one good thing is Andy Dalton isn’t a Drew Brees. Protecting Matt Ryan will be
key against a Bengals team who had 43 sacks last year. Personally, until I
moved to this city, I didn't know how much hatred this Saints vs Falcons
rivalry contained. I never knew so many Saints fans lived in Atlanta.
"Rise up" and "Who Dat?" Bad blood but all in good spirit
of two professional teams with a college rivalry taste. I heard plenty of
chatter and jokes this week but I specifically remember one. A man said,
"you know the difference between a "dirty bird" and a"
dirty tub"? The tub has a ring around it. That may be true but the tub
will sit dry after this one at least until December 21st.
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