By Don Stone - Football Atlanta
What a difference just ten months can make. The difference in the fortunes
and misfortunes of the Seahawks and Falcons are drastic since that first
round playoff game this past January 13 at the Georgia Dome. It was the
first ever playoff win for
Mike Smith
and
Matt Ryan
since joining forces. In an almost mirror image of the game the following
week with San Francisco, Atlanta jumped out early to a 20-0 halftime lead.
But, the Seahawks furiously rallied back to take a 28-27 lead with just 31
seconds left in the game before the Falcons drove 41 yards in three plays to
kick a game-winning field goal with eight seconds left.
This year, Atlanta has had several shots at pulling out similar
last minute victories only to see them all fall short. The result is a 2-6
record with a an base left scratching their heads. Seattle, on the other
hand, has taken the devastating loss and built upon it to again become one
of the best teams in the NFL at 8-1.
The Falcons did something on their first drive that they have done a lot
this year and didn't do much last year, go three and out. Seattle got the
ball on their 30 yard line and got a first down on three rushes at the 42.
They got two more firsts highlighted by a 19 yard catch by TE
Luke Wilson
to the Falcons 24. Seattle could only get three on a 39 yard field goal to
take the lead.
Roddy White, listed as questionable
for the game, made his presence known early with a 20 yard reception at the
40. But, that's all they would get with another punt this time pinning the
Seahawks back at their seven yard line.
The Hawks quickly got out of the hole with a 31 yard pass to
Golden Tate
at the 40. Add 15 for an unnecessary roughness and they were into Falcons
territory at the 45. Nine more to WR
Doug Baldwin
and a four yard rush by
Marshawn Lynch
at Seattle had another first at the 32. A sack of Russell Wilson
by OLB
Joplo Bartu
moved them back eight yards to a third and 16 at the 38. This was a big play
because they were just out of field goal range. A stop would result in no
points. Give them a few yards and they would have three. Give them the 16
and it would likely result in seven. The defense held and Atlanta got the
ball back after the punt at their ten. Despite the benefit of an offsides
penalty, Atlanta still couldn't get a first down and punted again.
As the first quarter came to an end, the results so far were a Seattle
team that moved the ball effectively between the 20s but not beyond and a
Falcons team that barely moved. The Seahawks dominated in time of possession
at 9:53 to 5:07 and in total yards 88-30. Still, only a three point
difference with the home team lucky to be that close.
Matt Bosher
had to punt once again from near his end zone. He got off a 53 yarder giving
Seattle good field position again at their 41. On a third and three, Wilson
found WR Jermaine Kearse for 21 to
move them to the AF 30. Again, they were having no problems moving in the
middle of the field. How would they do as they approached the red zone. On a
third and six, it appeared that Tate made an acrobatic catch at the two.
But, replays showed his left foot landed out of bounds and Mike Smith
tossed the red flag to question the call.
After a check under the hood, the refs reversed the call. Again, the
Seahawks had hit a barrier at the 20 with a Steven Hauschka
43 yard field goal stretching the close lead
to six.
Suddenly the Falcons started moving the ball. Matt Ryan
started the next drive with a nice 14 yard pass to RB Jason Snelling
to the 34. Jacquizz Rodgers burst free
for 17 yards to get the ball into Seattle territory for the first time. On a
third and nine, Ryan scrambled for ten to give Atlanta a rare first down at
the 34. But, that's all they would get. At least the Falcons had shown a
sign of life on offense with a 53 yard Matt Bryant
field goal getting them on the board.
A quick look at other scores showed a few surprises as Jacksonville was
leading Tennessee 13-0 with the Rams 28-0 over the Colts. I was wondering if
fans in other stadiums were thinking the same thing when they saw this
score.
Seattle showed what an explosive offense they had when they scored on two
plays going 80 yards in 57 seconds. A Lynch rush for 37 yards followed by a
43 yard Kearse touchdown catch.
Suddenly the score was not as close with Seattle building a 10 point
lead.
Still close, but Atlanta needed to continue their newfound offense and
add points on their end before the half. So far, Tony Gonzalez
and Harry Douglas were held catchless.
That needed to change with Ryan's only completions, with the exception of
the White catch going to running backs.
Douglas got his first catch for four yards bringing up a third and four
at the 29. No offense, another punt.
Seattle picked up where they left off with a short pass to Tate to the
Atlanta that he took for 42 yards to the 29. Nothing on the next two plays
bringing up a third and seven at the two minute warning. Another big play to
keep Atlanta in the game as the defense held again forcing a third field
goal. Three points were better than seven, but the field goals were starting
to add up as the lead built to 13 points.
The Falcons would get the ball back with 1:52 remaining with two
goals....maybe get a few more points and also to keep the Seahawks from
getting it back. They failed on both counts. Apart from a 10 yard pass to
Rodgers, the offense was MIA as they had to punt and give Seattle another
shot with a minute remaining. And Seattle took full advantage moving the
length of the field to get seven more points to almost put the game out of
reach 23-3. A score that would not seem insurmountable, but given the
lethargic nature of Atlanta's offense, it seemed unlikely that they would
suddenly flip a switch and find it again. Gonzalez, White, Douglas and
Steven Jackson had been almost
complete nonfactors.. The only ground game had been Ryan. The only movement
in the air had been to running backs, mostly Rodgers. You don't win many
games with that formula.
First half stats were telling the story. Seattle led total yards 316-99.
Rogers had the one 17 yard carry. Other than that, Ryan kept it three times
for 15 yards with Jackson getting seven carries for just 14. And, apart from
the one 20 yard catch by White, Atlanta could only muster 33 yards passing,
all but two to running backs.
Yesterday in Athens, I noted that Appalachian State reminded me of a ten
year old kid facing off against an older teenager who had his had extended
to the kid's head as he swung wildly in frustration. Today, I'm getting that
sense again, only the kid is the Falcons.
And, like that game, it was close for awhile, then the better team found
another gear. In that case, Georgia rattled off 31 unanswered second half
points. In this, its like Seattle was reminded of the Atlanta comeback last
year and cranked out 17 after the 6-3 start to make sure nothing like
happened again.
As the second half got under way, Seattle added three more on a 53 yard
field goal to make it 26-3. The matrix board usually shows first half
highlights at this point. All they could show was Ryan running for six yards
and the Bryant field goal.
The question wasn't whether the Falcons would mount an amazing comeback.
It was whether Gonzalez' long streak of 203 consecutive games with a catch
would end. He had none in the first half. The future hall of famer would
finally get his catch to convert a third and eight at the Seattle 41.
Rodgers would add 11 on the ground to the 30. Seattle would help with a
roughing the passer penalty to move it to the 19. Atlanta would have to go
for it on a fourth and three at the 12 bypassing a sure three points that
would be meaningless. Instead, Ryan found WR Darius Johnson
for seven to bring them to within 16. How
important was the extra seven points Seattle got in the final minute of the
first half now?
Still a long way to go and if Atlanta had a chance, the defense needed to
make a stop as the fourth quarter began.
But, any faint hopes of a Falcons comeback were severely dashed when the
Seahawks resumed their penchant for picking up lots of yardage, first with a
27 yard Baldwin catch followed by 15 more on the ground by Lynch. All
Atlanta could do is hope the Seahawks did what Oregon and LSU did over the
weekend, fumble as they were entering the end zone. But, Seattle did not
participate as Lynch easily carried it in for another touchdown to put the
lead back at 23.
If you just looked at the records coming in with an 8-1 team facing a 2-6
team, a 33-10 score is close to what you'd expect. With eight minutes
remaining, I was surprised to see very few fans heading for the gates. But,
that told me that this was about what they thought it would be and they were
just here because they wanted to be here.
The final play of Atlanta's next drive would be a microcosm of how the
day and season had gone. The Falcons would finally get a big play as Douglas
took a pass 31 yards downfield only to fumble it at the 12.
Already the Falcons would have more losses at home (3) as they had in any
of the previous seasons since Smith arrived.
The only people in Atlanta happy with this result were those transplants
from the northwest and the Falcons fans who figured the season was a loss
and they might as well tank it the rest of the way and get the number one
draft pick. For the latter group, they had a pretty good week. Minnesota 2-7
Vikings beat Washington on Thursday night. The 3-6 Rams beat the Colts. The
2-6 Giants beat the Raiders, the 4-5 Eagles beat the Packers, the 2-6
Steelers beat Buffalo, and the 0-8 Jaguars got their first win. So, the 2-7
Falcons would trail only Houston, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh for
the worst record in the NFL. And the road ahead would not be any easier with
games remaining against New Orleans, Green Bay, Washington, San Francisco
and Carolina. Only the Bucs and Bills looked like they would be favored. |