Rosenthal with GOLD

[UpstatePanther]

This is is an excerpt from his article “Six narratives that fell apart in Week 6”

 

“1) The Falcons have put the Super Bowl loss behind them

On some cosmic level, it seems obvious that the players and coaches associated with the Super Bowl LI collapse will never fully get over what happened in Houston. The bigger concern is that the scars haven't even formed yet for this Falcons team. 

Giving up leads is in this team's DNA. Before Sunday's unthinkable letdown against Miami, the Falcons lost a home halftime lead against Buffalo in Week 4. They allowed the Lions to come back from 17-6 to force a tie before holding on to beat Detroit in Week 3. The Bearswere a drop away from completing a 10-point comeback against Atlanta in the final eight minutes in Week 1. The Falcons have been outscored 72-40 in the second halves of games this season.

The trend was established last season, when the Falcons gave up four fourth-quarter leads, including in a home game against the Chargers that they led at one point by 17. 

This Falcons team has been less than the sum of its parts. Its offensive-drive stats are excellent on paper, but the defense can't get off the field. (Atlanta had only four offensive drives in the second half Sunday.) So many of the same elements from the Super Bowl loss were present against Miami. The defense gave up a fourth-down conversion where a stop could have all but ended the game. The offense had three-and-outs. A holding call and an ill-timed sack took them out of field-goal range, punctuating a scoreless dry spell in the fourth quarter. The pass rush faded late. Bad luck on a deflected pass made a big difference.

The Falcons have a chance to exorcise some demons this Sunday night against a Patriotsdefense that can make any quarterback resemble his ideal self. Or they could re-live their nightmare again, with motivational slogans proving helpless against the reality of what keeps happening on the field.”

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000862517/article/the-debrief-week-6-six-narratives-that-were-busted

#FalconsGonnaFalcon

Has anyone mentioned that Atlanta blew a 25 point lead in the Super Bowl?

[rayzor]

embracing the suck.

[Nails]

I think there's a good chance they lose next week at the Jets too, riding a four game losing streak as we then put their mouth on the curb and blast their chiclets to oblivion.

[Greatman77]

I dumped Matt Ryan from my Fantasy team after week 2 (I'm a slow learner)..

[JakeDel5674]

2 minutes ago, Nails said:

I think there's a good chance they lose next week at the Jets too, riding a four game losing streak as we then put their mouth on the curb and blast their chiclets to oblivion.

Honestly, if Shula wasn't so inept, I would say the NFC South is ours for the taking this year.  

[xav8tor]

10 minutes ago, UpstatePanther said:

 

Giving up leads is in this team's DNA. 

The Falcons have been outscored 72-40 in the second halves of games this season.

The trend was established last season, when the Falcons gave up four fourth-quarter leads, including in a home game against the Chargers that they led at one point by 17. 

I don't think it's DNA at all. There's something fishy going on. Looks to me like they've acquired a copy of the 2nd half with a lead section from the Rivera/Shula playbook.

[LinvilleGorge]

16 minutes ago, JakeDel5674 said:

Honestly, if Shula wasn't so inept, I would say the NFC South is ours for the taking this year.  

The Saints are playing well right now and are already up 1-0 in the head to head match up. 

[electro's horse]

i mean yeah when your defense is predicated on playing tight man and being more athletic, 2 3 and outs in a row from your offense or playing into the fourth quarter aren't ideal.

[JakeDel5674]

54 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

The Saints are playing well right now and are already up 1-0 in the head to head match up. 

Meh, they got turnovers from their Defense, and had three TD's from their Defense.  I do not expect that to keep up, honestly.  

[LinvilleGorge]

28 minutes ago, JakeDel5674 said:

Meh, they got turnovers from their Defense, and had three TD's from their Defense.  I do not expect that to keep up, honestly.  

Wins are wins. We were something ridiculous like +20 in turnover differential in 2015.

[!stUp]

[Chaos]

1 hour ago, rayzor said:

embracing the suck.

 They're not just embracing the suck, they've strapped on the beer goggles, taken the fatty home, and pounded it without shame. 

[JakeDel5674]

25 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Wins are wins. We were something ridiculous like +20 in turnover differential in 2015.

Fair, but they don't pressure the QB like we did back in 2015.  They only have 4 sacks for instance through 6 games.  That's pretty horrendous.  

[Jon Snow]

Sounds erily like the Panthers under Rivera/Shula.