Okay, so the Falcons opening game of the 2011 season was not what any fan expected.
The offensive line struggled protecting Matt Ryan, the entire defensive unit missed tackles throughout the game and it almost seem that there was no sense of urgency when the Chicago Bears were pulling away from the Falcons in the third quarter.
Is it the end of the world for the Falcons? Are they now going to doubt themselves every time they step on the field? Of course not, because it’s just one game and the NFL season is a long one.
When breaking down the numbers, the Falcons and Bears are similar. In fact, the Falcons had more first downs, outgained the Bears in total yards and had more plays from the line of scrimmage.
But the three turnovers killed the Falcons and the Bears scored 17 points off the Falcons mistakes. The Falcons also had trouble staying disciplined as they committed nine penalties for 65 yards.
The reason the Falcons played so well last year, is that they did not make mistakes on offense and the defense was able to create turnovers. That did not happen against Chicago, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be able to play their style of football again for the rest of the year.
“We kept shooting ourselves in the foot,” Michael Turner said who had a fumble in the first quarter. Too many turnovers, starting with me, I had one out there too today. We’ve got to clean that up, take care of the football and don’t put our defense in bad positions and keep the score closer than what it was so we can keep all phases in our game plan.”
Remember, the Falcons struggled a great deal against the Pittsburgh Steelers last year and after that the Falcons were able to win in 13 of their next 15 games. Whether they can repeat that type of success remains to be seen, but there is no question the talent is there, it’s just a matter of execution.
The Falcons are itching to get back on the field to get the bad taste out of their mouth. But at the same time, the schedule is not going to get any easier. Next Sunday the Philadelphia Eagles come to town for a primetime showdown. Then the Falcons will be on the road for the next two weeks to face Tampa Bay and Seattle. And for the fifth game of the season, the Green Bay makes a visit to the Georgia Dome in what could be a preview of the NFC Championship.
This five-game gauntlet is the ultimate test for the Falcons and if they can win three of the next four, they are right where they want to be. But in order for them to get there they have to execute better on offense, defense and special teams. If they don’t do that and continue to make the same mistakes they made against Chicago, it will be a very long season.
Loading ...
