Falcons vs. Bengals: Our reactions and takeaways after another narrow loss Dave ChoateThis team is courting disaster in such an unnecessary way. Everyone’s pretty clear that poor defensive play put the Falcons in a position to lose this game http://www.atlantafalconsteamonline.com/robert-alford-jersey , but the blame for the loss has gone to deep breath everyone from Dan Quinn to Marquand Manuel to Robert Alford to Desmond Trufant to Isaiah Oliver to Brian Poole to Matt Ryan. These maddeningly close games have opened the floodgates for that kind of criticism, but honestly, this team should not have been in a position to lose so narrowly to the Bengals. They played so poorly in the first half that they dug themselves a hole some improved second half D couldn’t get them out of. There’s a deficit of talent and readiness on defense, but the primary reason the Falcons looked so awful on Sunday was that their veteran secondary played far below their usual standards. The Falcons can win more games this season—even if a winning season is a huge question mark, much less a playoff berth—but they’ll need to stop shooting themselves in the foot immediately. With the Steelers and Buccaneers on deck, that’s looking dicey. DWI can’t advocate for tanking, but dear god it may happen anyways.As fans, the idea of getting a top draft pick will always collide with the reality of what it takes to get there. Yet, with the offense putting up over 30 per game and the defense still finding ways to squander it, here we are. Matt Ryan may legitimately put up record numbers yet again and we may end up with a top-12 draft pick. I hope this team can turn things around, but my hopes for the playoffs disappeared today. Maybe tanking isn’t such a bad idea after all鈥att ChambersThis is definitely and without question the worst Falcons loss I can ever remember.Cory Woodroof Pessimistic Optimism The tough part about Atlanta’s 2018 is that it’s probably going to get better from here. Like, if they can beat a struggling Pittsburgh team on the road next Sunday, they have a good chance of sweeping October and hitting 4-3. Why is that tough? Because if they start looking good and get close to knocking on the playoff door, these September slip-ups are going to haunt them. The Falcons are probably going to end the year looking like a really good football team once the safeties get comfortable and Deion Jones gets back. The challenging part about that is if it’ll be too little too late. Sunday was awful, but sorry, folks, the only way to go is up, and that’s probably where we’re headed. They’re going to make the play to win these close games once the communication on defense improves. The Falcons will not let you off the hook that easily. They never do. We’re still in this, for better or worse. Rising up is the symptom, not the cure. TorgoI’m old.I’ve seen much, much worse than this.I’m certainly not ready to throw in the towel on the season yet, though I expect another tough game this week. If the losses had been blowouts, sure, I’d say the team is overrated and the season is toast. But Atlanta’s three losses have been by a total of 13 points, with 6 of those coming in overtime. In spite of the injuries this team has been within one play of winning every game.I saw a lot of things - both good and bad - in this week’s game. The most important one was an adjustment made at halftime by Marquand Manuel and/or Dan Quinn. The defense stopped playing so much zone coverage after halftime and played a whole lot more man. It was a significant improvement http://www.atlantafalconsteamonline.com/jake-matthews-jersey , and I expect to see much more man coverage over the next few weeks. Personally, I love it. Jam those receivers at the line to give the pass rush that extra second, and make the receivers work to get open.Of course, it’s extremely frustrating to realize that if they had made this change at the half last week, they’d be 3-1 now rather than 1-3.By the Numbers stats preview for Falcons vs. Eagles Gameday is finally here! The Atlanta Falcons take on the Philadelphia Eagles tonight in the NFL’s 2018 season opener. It’s very exciting stuff, and needless to say, I am hyped. Before we get into the hype-fest, however, we should take a closer look at the finer points of this early-season playoff rematch.The Falcons and Eagles were very closely matched back in 2017, with the Eagles eking out a narrow 15-10 victory in the divisional round. Both teams have reloaded with young players, but the Falcons come into the game with a distinct health advantage against the defending Super Bowl champions. Let’s take a closer look at how these teams compare statistically heading into Thursday night.To clarify, all these stats are taken from the NFL’s 2017 regular season statistics. After tonight’s game, we’ll be switching to 2018 regular season statistics. So, this is the last time you’ll have to look at these old numbers! Huzzah!OFFENSEStatisticFalconsEaglesStatisticFalconsEaglesThe Falcons offense was good in 2017, but they underachieved significantly based on their efficiency numbers. Hopefully, with a shiny new WR3 in Calvin Ridley and another year of experience for Steve Sarkisian, they can improve. The Falcons were merely 15th in scoring, but 8th in total yardage and 3rd in yards per play. In the passing game, Atlanta was 8th in yardage, T-4th in yards per attempt, and T-20th in passing TDs. On the ground, the Falcons were 13th in yardage, T-7th in yards per carry, and T-15th in rushing TDs. The team was best in the league on third down with a 45% conversion rate, but a poor turnover margin (-2 Authentic Keanu Neal Jersey , 19th) held them back all season.Philadelphia looked like the NFL’s best offense at times with Carson Wentz in the lineup, but fell off somewhat after Nick Foles came in. We know they rallied in the playoffs, but it’s still unclear just how effective they’ll be without Wentz in 2018. In 2017, the Eagles were 3rd in scoring, 7th in total yardage, and 10th in yards per play. Through the air, Philadelphia was 13th in yardage, T-14th in yards per attempt, and 1st in passing TDs with a whopping 38. The Eagles were among the NFL’s best rushing attacks—3rd in yardage and T-3rd in yards per carry, but only T-24th in rushing TDs. Philadelphia was also good on third down, converting 42% of their attempts (8th). The team benefited from an excellent turnover margin in 2017, ending the season at +11 (4th).Advantage: PushDEFENSEStatisticFalconsEaglesStatisticFalconsEaglesThe Falcons defense, on the other hand, may have slightly overachieved based on their efficiency numbers in 2017. Atlanta held Philadelphia to only 15 points in the playoffs—hopefully, another performance like that would be enough to get a win on Thursday. The Falcons were 8th in scoring defense, 9th in total yards allowed, and 13th in yards per play. Defending the pass, Atlanta was 12th in yardage, T-8th in yards per attempt, and T-12th in passing TDs allowed. Against the run, the Falcons were 9th in yardage, T-16th in yards per carry, and T-6th in rushing TDs allowed. Atlanta was about average at defending third downs, allowing a 38% conversion rate (16th. The Falcons also got to the QB at an above-average rate, with 39 sacks in 2017 (T-13th).Philadelphia has one of the NFL’s best defenses—particularly against the run—but that defense will be a bit shorthanded on Thursday night. Still Authentic Vic Beasley Jersey , their numbers from 2017 were very impressive. The Eagles were 4th in scoring defense, 5th in total yardage allowed, and 9th in yards per play. Against the pass, Philadelphia was 17th in yardage, T-3rd in yards per attempt, and T-18th in passing TDs allowed. On the ground, the Eagles were 1st in yardage, T-6th in yards per carry, and T-3rd in rushing TDs allowed. Philadelphia was one of the NFL’s best third down defenses, allowing only 32% of attempts to be converted (3rd). The Eagles were about average at generating sacks, with 38 on the year (T-15th).Advantage: EaglesThe story, at least based on the statistics, is basically the same as it was in the Divisional round in 2017. Atlanta must find a way to stop the rushing attack of the Eagles, and force the ball into Nick Foles’ hands. On the other side of the ball, the Falcons need to score points early and often to put themselves into a positive game script—especially on the road against what is sure to be a raucous crowd.Of course, the stats never tell the full story, especially when all we have to go off of are last year’s numbers. These are two different teams that are likely to change somewhat in 2018. Atlanta has the advantage in health, where they get to face an Eagles’ defense that is down starting LB Nigel Bradham and DT Timmy Jeringan, with explosive EDGE Brandon Graham coming back on the field off of limited training camp reps. The Falcons also get to face the Philadelphia offense without WRs Alshon Jeffery and Mack Hollins—two of the team’s top 4 targets.Expect the Eagles and Falcons to both target each other’s weaknesses. Philly is likely to roll out a lot of 12 and 22 sets to force the Falcons to play base defense and get LB Duke Riley on the field. Atlanta is likely to do the same, forcing the Eagles to use inexperienced LBs like Nick Gerry and Kamu Grugier-Hill. Whoever is able to take advantage of these match-ups is likely to come away with the victory. Based on external factors, the Falcons have the advantage. Based on the stats alone, however, the edge still goes to the Eagles.Overall Advantage: EaglesWhat are your thoughts on this playoff rematch? How big of a difference will Philadelphia’s injuries make in this game? Do you expect the Falcons to come away with a win tonight?
