casually ranking the games elite is fickle, at best. At wors | Forum
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Dec 13 '17
ATLANTA -- Devonta Freeman more than made up for his first fumble of the season. Botas Ugg Rosas Con Lazos .Freeman rushed for 139 yards and three touchdowns Sunday, leading the Falcons to a 41-13 rout of the San Francisco 49ers that clinched Atlantas first winning season since 2012.The third-year back capped his big day with a 34-yard touchdown run .He preferred to focus on a fumble just short of the end zone that kept the high-scoring Falcons from putting up TDs on their first five possessions against San Franciscos horrible defense.I never settle, Freeman said. Its crazy, but at the end of the night Im going to say `Dang! I had a fumble. Thats my first fumble of the year. I hate fumbling.Matt Ryan completed 17 of 23 passes for 286 yards, including a pair of 9-yard scoring tosses to Taylor Gabriel and Austin Hooper.Aldrick Robinson, stepping up with Atlanta star Julio Jones missing his second straight game with a toe injury, had a career-best 111 yards on four receptions.It just lets you know how much depth we have and how much we think about those guys, Freeman said. Weve got hungry guys.Atlanta (9-5) began the day tied with Tampa Bay for the NFC South lead. The Falcons made sure they didnt overlook the 49ers (1-13), moving a step closer to getting back to the playoffs after a three-season absence.When you get into December football, you better do that, coach Dan Quinn said. Every time you have a chance to go battle, you better have your intent right, your preparation right.In an interesting twist, the Falcons previous winning season ended with a loss to San Francisco in the NFC championship game .The 49ers have totally fallen apart since that trip to the Super Bowl. They extended a franchise record with their 13th straight loss, keeping the heat on first-year coach Chip Kelly.Thats a really good offensive football team, Kelly said Its a team that could make some hay in the playoffs.Freeman nearly had four touchdowns, but the ball was yanked out of his hand inside the 1 as he attempted to power into the end zone.Im going to remember that fumble because Ill never be perfect, but it could have been perfect if I had not fumbled, he said.No one else was too concerned after the third three-touchdown game of his career. Freeman scored on a 5-yard run in the first quarter, bounced off three would-be tacklers for a 9-yard TD in the second, and got loose down the sideline for his longest run of the day late in the third to give the Falcons a 38-13 lead.Colin Kaepernick was 20 of 33 for 183 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also was sacked three times.For Atlanta, it was the second straight laugher over a team from California. The Falcons built a 42-0 lead the previous week on the way to a 42-14 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.As in that game, Ryan and many of the starters watched the final minutes from the sideline.SCORING MARKThe Falcons set a franchise record for points in season, pushing their total with 469. That eclipsed the mark of 442 set by the 1998 Super Bowl team, with two weeks still to go in the regular season.Atlanta has scored more than 40 points in five games, and at least 30 four other times.DEFENSE STEPS UPAfter giving up a pair of 75-yard touchdown drives in the first half, the Falcons defense totally shut down the 49ers over the final two quarters. San Francisco was held to 85 yards and four first downs after trailing 28-13 at the break.We go out there and take every game like a championship week, Atlanta safety Ricardo Allen said. It doesnt matter what the record is.INJURY REPORTThe 49ers lost wide receiver Quinton Patton, linebacker Nick Bellore, tight end Blake Bell and cornerback Jimmie Ward with injuries. Patton (foot) and Bellore (elbow) left in the first half. Bell and Ward were declared out with shoulder injuries in the second half.Falcons linebacker DeVondre Campbell left with a concussion, and Hooper was carted off in the fourth quarter with a left knee injury.UP NEXTSan Francisco: The 49ers wind down a lost season by traveling to Los Angeles to take on the Rams, the team they defeated in Week 1 for their lone victory .Atlanta: Head to Carolina on Saturday to take on the Panthers in the final road game of the regular season. The Falcons defeated their NFC South rival 48-33 in the first meeting Oct. 2.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry .---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ;Botas Ugg Bebe Baratas . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. Botas Ugg Niña Baratas . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. http://www.botasuggtiendaonline.es/botas-ugg-mujer-outlet.html . LUCIE, Fla. Id like to think were collectively smarter about anointing golfs biggest stars than we were at the beginning of this year. Id like to think we learned something about the game at its highest level -- and more importantly, something about ourselves -- but maybe thats just wishful thinking.It wasnt so long ago that the idea of a Big Three was prevalent among those who observe the game on professional and recreational platforms. And yet, it was long ago enough that I actually had to look up exactly who those three players were. The answer: Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson. Thats right -- way back in early 2016, we somehow categorized the worlds best players and didnt include a guy named Rory McIlroy. This is the same Rory McIlroy who wound up winning the FedEx Cup and was far and away Europes most imposing team member at the Ryder Cup.So yeah, sometimes we dont know nearly as much as we think we know.That is, unless you never bought the Big Three hype and considered it a Big Four. But that, too, still eliminated deserving contenders. Some insisted wed need to throw in Henrik Stenson for a Big Five, plus?Adam Scott for a Big Six or even plus?Patrick Reed for a Big Seven.If this all sounds silly, thats because it is. All of it. As much as wed like to compartmentalize this generation with an updated version of Jack, Arnie and Gary, thats not a viable option anymore.I was reminded of this idea once again while watching Hideki Matsuyama win the WGC-HSBC Champions this weekend.Youd be hard-pressed to find many people who had Matsuyama in their Big Eight or Big Nine or Big Ten or whatever it was earlier this year, but the man is good. Like, really good.In lieu of adding another really to that adjective, I submit these numbers: In his past four worldwide starts, hes been top five in all of them. Six of his past nine, too. Extend that over the past 12 months, and his top-10 results have more than doubled his missed cuts.One week after moving into the worlds top 10 for the first time after a runner-up finish at the CIMB Classic, Matsuyamas 7-shot victory vaulted him to sixth in the world -- behind only Day, McIlroy, Johnson, Stenson and Spieth. Botas Ugg Oferta. aybe he needs to contend in a few more major championships to move into that next tier on golfs hierarchal stratosphere, but we shouldnt neglect the fact that his two MCs in majors this year were sandwiched by a T-7 at the Masters and a T-4 at the PGA Championship.If there exists a main criticism of Matsuyamas game, its his putting, which often ranges from passable to pitiful. For the PGA Tour season that just passed, he ranked 103rd on the greens, posting a negative score in the strokes gained putting statistic.Not one of those numbers, though, is as important as this one: 24. Thats his age, several years younger than young guns Day and McIlroy (who are barely clutching to that moniker these days) and less than 18 months older than Spieth.All of which suggests Matsuyama should be in the conversation about the best players right now, part of some Big Six, if you will.Except that would repeat this silly process all over again.Any golf aficionado knows enough to not overly credit anything that happens in the years final three months, just as we should now know enough not to limit the highest echelon of players to a specific total number.This is the part of the story where I should warn that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Lets not rush to judgment here. Lets not automatically launch Matsuyama into some imaginary upper tier, but lets not exactly leave him out of the conversation, either.Theres a delicate balance here, but maybe we collectively learned something over the past year. This business of casually ranking the games elite is fickle, at best. At worst, it makes us appear foolish when circumstances change. This much we should know by now. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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